Ten Kenyan startups building on Meta’s artificial intelligence tools will compete for funding and a slot at a global AI summit in a pitch contest in Nairobi on Friday.
The inaugural AI Academy Kenya Pitchathon, hosted by Meta and Nairobi-based AI accelerator This Is Digital, will take place at The Social House in Lavington. The event marks the launch of a partnership between the two firms.
The two winners will each receive $5,000 in equity-free funding and Meta advertising credits. Both will also be invited to pitch at Meta’s Regional AI Summit in Istanbul, Türkiye, on November 24.
The finalists span healthcare, education, retail, legal services and finance, with solutions aimed at local problems.
In health, Neural Labs Africa offers AI-assisted tele-radiology, while Solivia Data is building solar-powered offline triage hubs. O.C.A. has developed claims audit software to help insurers comply with Social Health Authority (SHA) requirements.
Education entrants include Jackfruit Network, which provides data-driven advice to low-fee private schools, and Utter Africa, a Kiswahili-first communication platform for nonverbal children with autism.
Me-Nasoma converts content into local Kenyan languages through text-to-speech.
TemboTrade offers an AI commerce and resource planning platform for small businesses, while JuaFlow automates workflows linking customer messages to business systems.
HakiChain has built an AI legal tool grounded in African law. Sawazisha AI, by John Digital Solutions, uses WhatsApp to automate tax compliance by matching transactions with Kenya Revenue Authority eTIMS invoices.
The startups will face two pitching rounds before a judging panel that includes Chinny Francis, policy programmes manager for AI and wearables at Meta, and Evan Gichuki, director of digital products and services at the State Department of ICT.
Other judges are This Is Digital chief executive Gregory Wanjama, Kaara Works founder Isaac Hunja and Strathmore University iLab Africa data scientist Nathasha Nalyaka.
Meta’s public policy manager for East and Horn of Africa, Sarah Muyonga, is among the keynote speakers.
The contest comes as global tech firms step up efforts to court African developers building AI products for local markets.
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By Nixon Kanali
Tech journalist based in Nairobi. I track and report on tech and African startups. Founder and Editor of TechTrends Media. Nixon is also the East African tech editor for Africa Business Communities. Send tips to kanali@techtrendsmedia.co.ke.