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Rockefeller Foundation invests in satellite data and AI to boost economic development in Africa

The logo of the Rockefeller Foundation. Credit: Rockefeller Foundation

Edinburgh / New York / Nairobi, 30 August 2022. – The Rockefeller Foundation launched a new US $5.5 million collaboration with e-GUIDE (Electricity Growth and Use In Developing Economies Initiative) and public benefit technology startup Atlas AI, to accelerate economic development and promote climate resilient infrastructure investment across sub-Saharan Africa, the Foundation said. 

Leveraging satellite data and machine learning technologies, the three-year project will provide insight into the well-being of communities. The digital platform will build on new research and data sets and cover the agriculture, energy, and transportation sectors’ development. The program will initially focus on Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda, helping policymakers in their decisions about new infrastructure development. 

e-GUIDE predicts electricity consumption in Africa and measures productive use of energy in the agriculture sector with the help of AI (Artificial Intelligence). The initiative is joined by Atlas AI, using planetary sensor data along with deep learning technologies to monitor global economic and societal wellbeing. 

The duo has also partnered with the Kigali Collaborative Research Centre in Rwanda. This way, they can harness its research and innovation leadership in energy systems, data science, AI, transportation, and climate change.

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