Information technology multinational Microsoft, at its ‘AI: A New Era’ event on October 30, announced plans to certify 30-million people in Africa in artificial intelligence- (AI-) related skills by 2025, and has partnered with the Presidential Youth Employment Service (YES) to upskill 300 000 South African youths.

“AI is the defining technology of our time and is rapidly gaining momentum in the country. We are seeing many organisations exploring the use of this technology to drive innovation and growth,” said Microsoft South Africa CEO Kalane Rampai.

“With an ecosystem and several research institutions and universities exploring AI applications in healthcare, finance and agriculture, South Africa is well positioned to harness the power of AI to drive economic growth and improve the lives of its citizens,” he said.

The three pillars underpinning AI for Microsoft are democratising AI, responsible AI and upskilling, hence the partnership with YES.

“The scale of the AI Youth Training Platform intervention, namely aiming to train 300 000 young people [in South Africa], underlines how we are democratising AI and aiming to leave behind as few people as possible. The courses will be aimed at novices and experts to expose them to AI and for them to explore a potential career in AI, as well as to see the potential in AI to solve some of our pressing social problems,” he says.

Young people who exit the formal training programme at YES will be aware of how AI can improve how they work and how this could become a career. Those who complete the AI Expert Module will be eligible for certification.

There were high levels of youth unemployment in South Africa and this training could be a potential catalyst to help resolve some of this, and not only for those who receive training, but also creating future employment through them using their skills to power growth and innovation in their companies or in new companies, said Rampai.

“As Africa, we are excited and optimistic about AI. It brings hope that we can solve some of our most pressing challenges, and presents new prospects and possibilities in healthcare, education, agriculture, finance and sustainability, and more,” said Microsoft Africa president Lillian Barnard.

“We are seeing significant investment in AI technology on the continent, and we believe that this technology can give an upward trajectory to the African economy. Analysts predict that we can increase Africa’s economy by 50% by 2030, if we were to capture only 10% of the global AI market,” she said.

“Similar to the rest of the world, Africa is at an inflection point, with AI changing things daily and we have seen a number of breakthroughs that will change and shape everything we do, for individuals and organisations alike.”

hrough its skills development, capacity building and employability programmes, Microsoft has certified over four-million youths in Africa over the past five years.