[Apply] Google Opens Equity-free Funding Accelerator for Africa

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June 11, 2018

If you’re building a great business or product in Africa, for Africa, Google wants you through the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa. Along with other 16 African countries, Nigerian founders are wanted. Google awards grants and provides financial support.

Launchpad regional accelerators are tailored specifically to their local markets, and provide access to the best of Google – its people, network, and advanced technologies – helping startups build great products. In addition to our accelerators, Launchpad regional initiatives include exclusive events, mentorship opportunities, and trainings. Keep an eye out for opportunities to participate in over 40 countries around the world.

As part of all Launchpad regional accelerators, startups receive:

Equity-free support
Access to Google engineers and intensive mentoring from 20+ teams
Access to silicon valley experts and top local mentors
PR training and global media opportunities
Close partnership with Google for three months (new classes are accepted twice a year)

Recently, Google concluded the last edition. Twelve startups participated with six from Nigeria. Google provided the companies with Google mentors and financial grants.

Apply here – due July 8.

Nigeria Needs AI and Blockchain Roadmap

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 11, 2018

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The fascinating global development on AI and blockchain demands that Nigeria articulates a roadmap on how we could plot a future on these technologies. We have done a similar thing in the past, on microelectronics, even though we did not follow through. I am confident this time may be different since the ecosystem has improved since Nigeria conceived the National Vision 2020. I wrote the nation’s Vision 2020 Microelectronics thematic area; it was my first national assignment for Nigeria.

It was many years ago when I received an email while a graduate student in the Johns Hopkins University to help in developing the microelectronics thematic area of Nigeria’s National Vision 2020. I developed the roadmap which was later ratified by NASENI and other government agencies.

I proposed a model which U.S., Canada, Europe, Brazil and China had followed to develop their respective microelectronics sectors: build a multi-foundry system which could be shared by all players, universities and small companies with strong SME and university elements. My premise was that no company could really afford the capital investment for the critical microelectronics infrastructures. So, Nigeria has to look at MOSIS (USA), EMC (Canada) and Europractice (Europe) as models if it wants to architect an electronics development future. Some of those ideas were further deepened in my book which later received IGI Global book of the year award.

My book on Nanotechnology and Microelectronics development

Rwanda invited me and we also proposed a similar model, not on electronics but on the broad ICT hardware sub-sector. They are running on it, till today. Nigeria never followed on the roadmap. The vision of Rwanda to have internet connectivity even in areas with no human habitation is geared to drive an era of IoT which will be critical in redesigning its economy. With its strategy, agriculture, transportation and other key sectors would benefit.

Prof Michael Adikwu, the current Vice Chancellor of University of Abuja, later invited me to join the International Board of the $200 million World Bank STEPB project. He had liked the visioning process I had articulated in the Vision 2020.

Today, I do think Nigeria is at it again. But this time, it is AI and blockchain for Nigeria. But we do not need government as core driver because the (inception) cost here is not as huge as microelectronics. We only need government to help harmonize certain elements. Largely, Nigeria desperately needs an AI and Blockchain Roadmap to ensure we can enjoy synergies across our sectors.

The goal for this roadmap would be to examine how Nigeria could advance and deploy distributed ledger and AI for the development of the nation, across many industrial sectors. It would be locally-flavored focusing on areas where these technologies could help the nation. Kenya has a similar plan. They see applications in education, land registration, transportation, healthcare and more.

A distributed ledger is a database that is simultaneously shared among many computers making it nearly impossible to erase stored records. Blockchain is the best known type of distributed ledger technology and it, in turn, is famous for being the technology that underpins Bitcoin, a virtual currency.

However, blockchain has applications beyond this and is being trialled across the world for supply chain management, storing government data and even developing secure voting systems.

Always remember that we are not talking about cryptocurrency which continues its gyrations. Here, the focus is building enablers for the future of Nigerian economy. This roadmap will also resolve if Nigeria would need to have a digital version of the Naira, under the control of the Central Bank.

Bitcoin plunged. South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail announced on Twitter it faced a “cyber intrusion,” causing it to lose an estimated $40 million in altcoins. Bitcoin subsequently fell over 10%, while the total crypto market lost an estimated $45 billion in value as other cryptocurrencies tumbled as well.

I am hoping Nigeria will do this. We need an AI & Blockchain Roadmap for our nation as these technologies evolve with their disruptive capabilities.

I Am Here [Prayer]- by Ndubuisi Ekekwe

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 10, 2018

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Father, thanks for today

As you send your angels

In the deepest of nights, and brightest of days

On assignments to bless men and women

I am here.

Father, my door is never locked

It opens to abundance and blessing

My address is the Lord’s Vineyard

There, I am – always

Angels will always find me.

Father, out of the miry clay

I’m in your pasture

In your Seal, men find me

The rivers of breakthroughs flow.

Father, thank you, for the grace

The amazing grace, the abiding grace

In the waters, air and minds

You’re Lord.

Father, I adore your Words

Knowing them, I lost my keys, years ago

And my heart is always open

I am here for more – blessing.

by Ndubuisi Ekekwe

I wrote this in the Church today. A visiting Bishop from North Carolina was just introduced. He noted that he would speak on the relationship between the Church and pastor [our pastor is celebrating two years in the Church]. As he got ready to preach, I put these lines to also appreciate my own relationship with the Lord.

Ndubuisi Ekekwe Prayer , I am here — This piece as written while in the Church

Nigeria Must Invest to Develop Technology

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 10, 2018

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Technology companies like Tecno Mobile are thriving, and that is a good thing for Nigeria. Around the world, the battle of the new species, AI (artificial intelligence), would be fought on smartphones. Yes, phones are driving or anchoring or converging most of the key innovations in the AI world. From Google Assistant to Apple Siri, from Microsoft Cortana to Samsung Bixby, companies are exploring how they could control the “phone mobility space” by putting supercomputers in our pockets.

Tecno Mobile is one of the fastest growing mobile device brands in Africa. It started business in 2006, in Hong Kong, and today operates as a subsidiary of Transsion Holdings. Tecno has won hearts with its balance on pricing and quality. It is a brand any mobile phone manufacturer that wants to sell in Africa must study. Today, the company competes for market share against Samsung in the smartphone mobile sub-sector. Apple is not necessarily in Africa to include it in any analysis. Blackberry is history!

Sure, these phones are evolving with tablets, smart watches and fitness systems emerging as varieties. But the evidence is clear: the conquest of the pockets of man would drive the progress on AI consumer business world. The mobile-world first is moving to the AI-world first. The impact would be huge, as big as the invention of electricity, as AI matures and reshapes industrial sectors.

One company in Nigeria leads the ecosystem into this mobile race. Yes, Tecno is the closest we can get into the engine of smartphones. But unfortunately, while Tecno has found success in Nigeria and beyond, Nigeria does not host the production of Tecno products.

Nigeria needs to find how it could help this company to make its phones in Nigeria. It would benefit Nigeria, because if Tecno succeeds Nigeria would do well, by participating in this new engineering shift. Just employing Nigerian engineers, and helping them to get into the real business of making these systems, would elevate our national competitiveness. Sure, we still need the salesmen which abound, but a real role in the design and engineering is urgently needed.

Apple is moving into AI-powered workforce with iPhone. But those are not necessarily workflows structured for Nigeria. In near future, phones would capture more activities we do – from organizing teams to filing taxes. Only companies with local elements would excel in those, for local companies and needs. The AI world is a world of data, and today Africa is not being carried along because we do not have main participants on the table.

The app is based on technology Apple acquired from Workflow, a clever — if somewhat advanced — task automation app that allows iOS users to combine actions into routines that can be launched with just a tap. Now, thanks to the Siri Shortcuts app, those routines can be launched by voice.

The Challenge – Tecno Mobile & Others

Certainly, there are many reasons why technology companies like Tecno may decide not to invest heavily in Nigeria. Samsung had made the point many months ago when it complained that Nigeria’s infrastructure was a huge challenge. We understand that and I will suggest a way out where Nigeria invests in these companies!

Sung noted the grey market which is a big issue in Nigeria. He also explained the poor state of our infrastructural readiness which would be challenging for an electronics company. Of course he did not forget the big one: return on investment. You can have returns in Nigeria if you invest minimally (just do business development). But when you invest big by building factories, you could lose all. That is really his message.

I do not expect the problem to go overnight, and we cannot expect Tecno to ignore it. But to have companies that can help provide platforms for Nigerian graduates to advance, Nigeria has to make tough choices: offer tax incentives for companies to invest in modern technology areas, beyond the pioneer status program.

How Nigeria Could Invest

Nigeria does not need to give any company money; we do not have enough. But we need to prioritize how to stimulate industrialization over short-term tax revenue. I do think that special venture capital and investment reforms should push companies to inject capital in Nigeria. Most mobile device makers are good investors on technology related areas. Yes, our reforms could stimulate Tecno Mobile and other players to seek and seed opportunities in Nigeria.

Government should offer new VC (venture capital) firms in Nigeria a ten year tax incentive on profits if they have asset base of at least $50 million and will deploy the capital in Nigerian startups within 10 years.
Offer new VC firms in Nigeria the opportunity to repatriate 100% of profit within ten years. That will help the country to attract foreign investors to make Nigeria home.

If we make this tax reform, you would be surprised how Tecno Mobile and other technology firms may be looking for some pieces of solutions within Nigeria for its phone systems. Yes, they would source and seed some Nigerian startups to feed them workforce, process systems and other necessary things that would help them make better phones with the Nigerian customers in their minds. But as it stands today, we are simply a sales point; that has to change.

All Together

As we move into the age of blockchain, mobile device makers would have key roles. The phone is becoming the convergence point for many computing users. Companies that can host where these devices are made, and the software that make them smarter, will offer many game-changing working experiences to engineers. Over time, those workers will depart, and then move into the economy to expand the space. The diffusion process will have catalytic impacts. This is important as Nigeria does not seem to have the resources to invest in the new sectors. We cannot just wait: we need to use different mechanisms to attract the companies of the future.

In the 21st century, every nation would be compelled to invest in the companies of the future. The key is making sure you get value for that investment. A smart tax system to bring venture funds into Nigeria could be a catalytic strategy for our nation. When we have such systems, it would mean that we are investing in companies like Tecno Mobile. Such enablers would help the companies advance the emerging technology firms in Nigeria and potentially seed a wave of local innovation.

*The use of Tecno is simply to capture the essence of indigenous mobile development capability. It could be any firm. Yes, Tecno may not be fully indigenous but it is closer to Nigeria than anything out there.

The Generalist Care AI Doctor Built on Blockchain

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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June 9, 2018

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In one of the most advanced European Commission blockchain labs, I saw innovations of the future, in Brussels, Belgium: a generalist Care AI doctor built on blockchain. Two of my companies were invited: Medcera, a healthcare startup, and Zenvus, Africa’s pioneering agriculture technology company which is deploying agro-smart contracts on blockchain. For Medcera, specifically, our vision is huge, and we are building extremely brilliant AI systems which could help deliver miracles through efficient healthcare systems in Africa.

Medcera is a web-based EMR (electronic medical record) and EHR (electronic health record) system with patient portal. It provides physicians and medical professionals with EMR/EHR and medical practice management technology that includes charting, scheduling, e-prescribing, medical billing, lab and imaging center integrations, referral letters, training, support and a personal health record for patients.

It supports large and small clinics, dentists, labs, pharmacists, and imaging centers to move their operations into the digital ecosystems where they can increase productivity, lower costs on medical information management, improve quality of care and employee/patient safety. Also, Medcera offers health insurance solution enabling integration of physician, billing, insurance, government receipts and other components of health insurance delivery in one system, at private and public levels. All Medcera systems run on the cloud with no requirement for any installation. It is supported with bank-level security

In this tour, I saw brilliant technologies, all anchored on blockchain. One was extremely impressive. It is called CareAi and what it does is mind-blowing. It is a computing system built on blockchain that can diagnose most population-health diseases within seconds.

When you walk to the Care AI “doctor”, they would give you a sterilized needle. Find a way to get a very small blood from your hand. Soak it with cotton. Drop the cotton on a reader connected to the “doctor”. In less than 3 seconds, it would print the disease you have. You would also see the result on the screen. Where you have none of those diseases, the result tells you that you are clear.

But to demonstrate what they are doing, they have some samples which were structured in a carefully designed way to avoid contaminating or infecting people. Once they do, you would see the disease on the screen. The sample for the demo I saw had tuberculosis.

Once the diagnosis is done, the system would move to the next phase: treatment. For that, the blockchain AI will tell you the treatment strategy, and then prescribe the drug, connecting you with the pharmacy where you can pick the medication. Once it finishes, it would charge the tokens tied to your account. (You should need to be registered in the system to use the production one.)

The diagnosis accuracy is close to what human doctors offer provided the AI has the disease models. Sure, it is still work in progress but the engineering is impressive. They do believe in 2-3 years, it would become smarter and better, possibly at parity with humans, in a generalist way.

The plan is to have this technology in rural areas in most developing world where people do not have access to doctors. Think of refugee camps. The AI has a way to let you know if you need to see a real doctor after looking at your case.

A technology like this could be catalytic for Africa. In Medcera, we would continue to explore partnerships under the highest industry-privacy and –security, to offer patients Autonomous Care where necessary. This would not take long but the condition-precedents would be solid patient medical records.

All Together

Certainly, we are going to see governments deploy technologies like this and install in markets and public areas where people can tap for their healthcare needs. It may find value in some remote areas in Africa. I am very sure that if the privacy elements are managed, technologies like this would save lives. Care AI is just around the corner and the advent of autonomous care would transform our world.