Changing Africa, A CEO Meets...

Can Africa afford to sit out the AI revolution?

In episode 8 of Changing Africa, Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO of AXIAN Group, talks with Karim Beguir, co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep. Launched in Tunis in 2014 with two laptops and USD 2,000, InstaDeepgrew into one of Africa's leading AI companies and is now part of BioNTech.

Together, they explore the opportunity artificial intelligence opens for the continent and what Africa needs to seize it: talent that stays and builds, the infrastructure AI runs on, and the ambition to create solutions at home.

Changing Africa is AXIAN Group's podcast, shining a light on the people driving innovation and change across the continent.

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L'Afrique peut-elle se permettre de rester en marge de la révolution de l'IA ?

Dans le 8e épisode de Changing Africa, Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO du Groupe AXIAN, reçoit Karim Beguir, cofondateur et CEO d'InstaDeep. Lancée à Tunis en 2014 avec deux ordinateurs portables et 2 000 dollars, InstaDeep est devenue l'une des entreprises d'IA phares du continent, aujourd'hui filiale de BioNTech.

Ensemble, ils explorent l'opportunité que l'intelligence artificielle ouvre pour l'Afrique et ce qu'il faut pour la saisir : des talents qui restent et bâtissent sur le continent, les infrastructures sur lesquelles repose l'IA, et l'ambition de créer des solutions sur place.

Changing Africa est le podcast du Groupe AXIAN, qui met en lumière celles et ceux qui font avancer l'innovation et le changement sur le continent.

I had the pleasure of having an inspiring conversation with Kate Kallot, a visionary tech entrepreneur and AI leader who’s driving one of Africa’s most exciting missions: solving data scarcity by building the continent’s own data infrastructure. From leading teams at Intel and NVIDIA to being named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in AI, Kate brings bold ideas and real-world solutions. It was a truly energising conversation.

Welcome to Changing Africa, A CEO Meets... where Hassanein Hiridjee talks with business leaders from across the continent.

I had the pleasure of talking to my good friend Lionel Zinsou. He brought us all his experience and his ability to put these events into perspective. Through this discussion, we wanted to go beyond the emotion aroused by these abrupt American decisions. In fact, our aim is to give you the keys to building your projects in these new balances.

I sincerely hope that this podcast will enable you to approach this complex period a little more calmly, so that you can seize all the opportunities that are nevertheless arising from it.

This live-recorded episode was moderated by RFI Journalist  Sarah Tétaud and featured a live audience.

*this episode is in french.

#ChangingAfrica is back again! In Ep.5, I will be discussing with entrepreneur, venture capitalist, investor and partner at 500Global, Africa, Mareme Dieng, about the state of finance, technology and investments in the African economy.

Welcome back to Changing Africa! In Ep.4, I’ll sit with managing director of 42, Sophie Viger, to discuss the school's mission, it's collaboration with AXIAN to open a campus in Madagascar, and how it's shaping education and technology.

Changing Africa is back! In Ep.3, I’ll sit with entrepreneur and founding director of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Touria El Glaoui to chat about the state of African art, artists, and their rise to global prominence.

Welcome to Changing Africa, A CEO Meets... where Hassanein Hiridjee talks with business leaders from across the continent.

In this episode, I talk with Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50, a pan-African investment platform capitalized by the African Development Bank and over 20 African countries and central banks.

Alain has led the development of several major infrastructure projects on four continents and held positions with the IFC and global financial service organizations. His current organization, Africa50, was established to help bridge Africa’s infrastructure funding gap, and in less than five years of operating, it has invested in 11 infrastructure projects with an aggregate cost in excess of $5 billion, including partnering with Axian to develop the Volobe Hydropower Plant in Madagascar.

Welcome to Changing Africa, A CEO Meets... where Hassanein Hiridjee talks with business leaders from across the continent. 

In this episode, I talk with Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, Founder and CEO of Birimian Ventures, a long-term investment company championing African heritage luxury and premium brands. Laureen explains what got her into business and how she leverages finance to nurture and develop Africa's astounding creative industries. 

Listen now to learn more.