26-29 january 2026
Join us for the fourth edition of AMLD Africa! 4 days of talks, tutorials, workshops, and demos on Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence projects with top speakers from industry, academia, and policy.
AMLD Africa focuses on the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in innovation and sustainable development in African countries, making it a particularly popular event for academia/research, and industry/business.
Gold
Silver
Startups presentations
Presentation of the startups
Community presentations
Presentation of the communities
Welcome coffee & Registrations
Grouping and registrations with a coffee
Lunch
Networking Fair + speed dating
Get to know new people
Closing
Bus pickup at South of WITS
Grand Opening
Join us for the AMLD Africa opening ceremony which sets the stage for an enriching journey of exploration and collaboration.
AI for Sustainability
AI for Sustainability
AI for Healthcare
Interlude
AI for Healthcare
AI for Healthcare
AI for Sustainability
AI for Sustainable Agriculture & Water Management
AI for Sustainability
AI for Sustainable Agriculture & Water Management
AI for Sustainability
AI for Sustainable Agriculture & Water Management
AI for Sustainability
AI for Sustainable Agriculture & Water Management
AI for Healthcare
Precision Diagnosis for Everyone
AI for Healthcare
Precision Diagnosis for Everyone
AI for Healthcare
Precision Diagnosis for Everyone
AI for Healthcare
Precision Diagnosis for Everyone
AI for Sustainability
AI for Urban Management & Circular Economy
AI for Sustainability
AI for Urban Management & Circular Economy
AI for Sustainability
AI for Urban Management & Circular Economy
AI for Sustainability
AI for Urban Management & Circular Economy
AI for Healthcare
Genomic Diversity and Personalized Medicine
AI for Healthcare
Genomic Diversity and Personalized Medicine
AI for Healthcare
Genomic Diversity and Personalized Medicine
AI for Healthcare
Genomic Diversity and Personalized Medicine
AI for Sustainability
AI for Energy Transition: Climate Adaptation & Mining
AI for Sustainability
AI for Energy Transition: Climate Adaptation & Mining
AI for Sustainability
AI for Energy Transition: Climate Adaptation & Mining
AI for Sustainability
AI for Energy Transition: Climate Adaptation & Mining
AI for Healthcare
TBD...
AI for Healthcare
TBD...
AI for Healthcare
TBD...
AI for Healthcare
TBD...
Workshop
Workshop
Registration
Lunch
Break
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Economic Empowerment
Interlude
AI for Cultural Preservation
AI for Cultural Preservation
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
AI for Cultural Preservation
TBD...
AI for Cultural Preservation
TBD...
AI for Cultural Preservation
TBD...
AI for Cultural Preservation
TBD...
AI for Economic Empowerment
Open Models Open Economies
AI for Economic Empowerment
Open Models Open Economies
AI for Economic Empowerment
Open Models Open Economies
AI for Economic Empowerment
Open Models Open Economies
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Job Creation Skills & Entrepreneurship
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Job Creation Skills & Entrepreneurship
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Job Creation Skills & Entrepreneurship
AI for Economic Empowerment
AI for Job Creation Skills & Entrepreneurship
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI for Cultural Preservation
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
Workshop
Workshop
Lunch
Break
AI Ethics
AI Ethics
AI Governance
AI Governance
Interlude
AI Governance
AI Governance
Closing Ceremony
AI Ethics
AI Safety & Alignement
AI Ethics
AI Safety & Alignement
AI Ethics
AI Safety & Alignement
AI Ethics
AI Safety & Alignement
AI Governance
AI Policy Regulation & Governance Infrastructure
AI Governance
AI Policy Regulation & Governance Infrastructure
AI Governance
AI Policy Regulation & Governance Infrastructure
AI Ethics
Accountability Transparency & Auditability
AI Ethics
Accountability Transparency & Auditability
AI Ethics
Accountability Transparency & Auditability
AI Ethics
Accountability Transparency & Auditability
AI Governance
AI for Public Good
AI Governance
AI for Public Good
AI Governance
AI for Public Good
AI Ethics
Fairness Bias & Discrimination
AI Ethics
Fairness Bias & Discrimination
AI Ethics
Fairness Bias & Discrimination
AI Ethics
Fairness Bias & Discrimination
AI Governance
Futures Culture & Decolonial Thought
AI Governance
Futures Culture & Decolonial Thought
AI Governance
Futures Culture & Decolonial Thought
Workshop
Workshop
Lunch
Break
AI for Healthcare
-
Genomic Diversity and Personalized Medicine
-
Precision Diagnosis for Everyone
AI Governance
-
AI for Public Good
-
AI Policy Regulation & Governance Infrastructure
-
Futures Culture & Decolonial Thought
AI for Cultural Preservation
-
Language Identity & NLP for African Languages
AI Ethics
-
Accountability Transparency & Auditability
-
AI Safety & Alignement
-
Fairness Bias & Discrimination
AI for Sustainability
-
AI for Energy Transition: Climate Adaptation & Mining
-
AI for Sustainable Agriculture & Water Management
-
AI for Urban Management & Circular Economy
AI For Economic Empowerment
-
AI for Job Creation Skills & Entrepreneurship
-
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
-
Open Models Open Economies
Tshilidzi Marwala
Samuel Segun
Jacques Ludik
Benjamin Rosman
Tom Lawry
Bruce D Walker
Jonathan Shock
Mary-Anne "Annie" Hartley
Gregg Barett
Kabelo Makwane
Jade Abott
Bruce D Walker
Dr. Walker is a professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard; and an adjunct professor of medicine at University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Bruce Walker’s research is focused on learning from patients to define mechanisms of immune system control of chronic viral infections, with an emphasis on those who control HIV infection in the absence of antiviral therapy. Through an international collaboration, Walker and his team are investigating the immunologic, virologic, and host genetic mechanisms that account for this phenotype. They are applying their discoveries to prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine development, and to define specific antiviral responses of various subsets of immune cells. Walker also directs population-based research studies on HIV infection at South Africa’s Nelson Mandela School of Medicine.
Activities during the event
AI for Healthcare
Introduction
Tom Lawry
Tom Lawry is a leading voice in the global conversation on artificial intelligence and its role in transforming healthcare. As a keynote speaker, advisor, and thought leader, he brings a wealth of expertise drawn from years of working at the intersection of medicine, technology, and digital transformation. With a career that includes senior leadership positions at Microsoft—where he served as National Director for AI for Health and Life Sciences, Director of Worldwide Health, and Director of Organizational Performance in the company’s first health incubator—Tom has developed a unique perspective on how AI is reshaping the future of healthcare. He has spent more than a decade advising medical and health leaders worldwide, guiding them through the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation. His insights stem not only from successes but also from understanding the common missteps organizations make when first embarking on their AI journey. Tom emphasizes the importance of planning, prioritization, and strategic alignment to ensure AI investments deliver meaningful results. Through his work as an author, advisor, and speaker, his mission is clear: to help leaders harness AI effectively, shorten learning curves, and accelerate progress toward more efficient, impactful, and human-centered healthcare systems.
Activities during the event
AI for Healthcare
Keynote
AI for Healthcare
Panel
Mary-Anne "Annie" Hartley
Mary-Anne “Annie” Hartley is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science. Her research is focused on developing and validating novel data-driven tools designed to improve healthcare in low-resource settings, with a special interest in Africa.
She completed her undergraduate degrees at the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town before moving to Switzerland, where she completed a PhD and MD at the University of Lausanne, with an MPH at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
In 2019, she started the research group, “Intelligent Global Health” in the School of Computer Science at the Swiss Institute of Technology (EPFL) and continues this work in LiGHT (Laboratory for intelligent Global Health Technologies).
Through these groups, she maintains a strong presence and partnership between EPFL and Yale through student exchange, research collaboration, and a visiting professorship.
The groups collaborate with international NGOs and clinical partners to create and validate needs-based digital global health technology using novel approaches in data science and informatics.
Activities during the event
AI for Healthcare
Panel
Gregg Barett
Gregg Barrett is the CEO of Cirrus, Africa’s AI initiative. Gregg is a technology executive who builds and scales innovative operations at large private and public sector organisations, non-profits, and start-ups globally. He co-founded an organisation that became the market leader in contract management systems in Africa and was selected to provide the E-commerce platform for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) common market. He also led the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) in Southern Africa to develop and advance contract and commercial management in the region.
He is a seasoned executive with extensive and diverse experience in strategy, building and managing relationships, deal making, communication, developing high performance teams, organisational leadership, and problem solving across a range of areas. Over the last decade Gregg has led work in data science, machine learning, corporate research, and corporate venture capital. This includes the establishment and management of data science, machine learning, corporate research, and corporate venture capital operations, working across people, process, and technology, integrating structured and unstructured data to direct research, business, and investment strategy. He is a supporter of ELLIS and CLAIRE, and a participant in MLCommons, the Energy Efficient High Performance Computing Working Group (EE HPC WG), TinyMLedu, and the OECD.AI Compute task force.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Oxford Brookes University in Marketing and Business Management, a Masters in Data Science from Northwestern University, and has completed the Professional Risk Manager (PRM) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programmes. Gregg serves as the Alumni Admission Council Director and the Global Ambassador for Northwestern University in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Activities during the event
AI for Healthcare
Panel
Kabelo Makwane
Activities during the event
AI for Economic Empowerment
Keynote
Benjamin Rosman
Benjamin Rosman is a Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, where he runs the Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning (RAIL) Laboratory. In 2024, he became the founding Director of the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, focused on the fundamental science of intelligence in machines, humans, and animals. He is also a founder of Lelapa AI, building AI for Africans, by Africans. In 2025, he was made a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, in Learning in Machines and Brains. He was named one of the TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2025.
He received his Ph.D. in Informatics in 2014, and previously obtained his M.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence, both from the University of Edinburgh. He also has a B.Sc. (Hons) in Computer Science and a B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Mathematics, both from the University of the Witwatersrand. His research interests focus primarily on reinforcement learning and decision making in autonomous systems, specifically on how learning can be accelerated through abstracting and generalising knowledge gained from solving related problems. He is a founder and organiser of the Deep Learning Indaba machine learning summer school, with a focus on strengthening African machine learning, which now has satellite events in 47 African countries. He was made a 2024 National Geographic Explorer, 2022 CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, was a 2017 recipient of a Google Faculty Research Award in machine learning, and a 2021 recipient of a Google Africa Research Award. In 2020, he was made a Senior Member of the IEEE.
Activities during the event
AI for Economic Empowerment
Panel
Jonathan Shock
Prof. Jonathan Shock is an associate professor in the Department of Maths and Applied Maths, Interim Director of the UCT AI Initiative at the University of Cape Town and an adjunct professor at the INRS Montreal. Originally from Oxford, England, he completed his PhD at the University of Southampton in 2005, in applications of string theory to understanding quantum chromodynamics. He then had postdoctoral research positions in Beijing, Santiago de Compostela and Munich before becoming a lecturer at the University of Cape Town in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics in 2013. Prof. Shock has a wide array of research interests and spends a lot of his time supervising students. His research interests cover machine learning (in particular reinforcement learning), theoretical physics, and neuroscience.
Activities during the event
AI for Economic Empowerment
Panel
Jade Abott
Jade Abbott (Lelapa AI, Co-founder & CTO) has over a decade of experience spanning the banking sector, non-governmental organisations, and startups. She is the co-founder of Masakhane, a grassroots initiative focused on advancing Natural Language Processing (NLP) research for African languages.
Jade holds an MSc from the University of Pretoria and has received numerous accolades for her work, including being recognised by InspiringFifty, which highlights exceptional women in tech, and Mail & Guardian’s ‘200 Young South Africans’ list, which honours trailblazing young professionals. In 2024, she was named to MIT Technology Review’s prestigious Innovators Under 35 list, a global recognition celebrating the most promising young minds driving the future of technology.
Activities during the event
AI for Cultural Preservation
Keynote
Jacques Ludik
Dr. Jacques Ludik is a smart technology entrepreneur, AI expert, and award-winning AI leader with over 25 years of experience in AI and data science. He is the Founder & President of the Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa (MIIA), and Founder & CEO of Cortex AI Group, driving cutting-edge AI innovation and societal impact. Previously, he founded CSense Systems, Africa’s first AI company acquired by General Electric, and has held executive roles at Jumo and GE. Through ventures like Sustainable Technology Ventures Capital (STVC) and Bluefin Group, he is advancing AI-driven solutions and infrastructure across Africa. Dr. Ludik is also the author of “Democratizing Artificial Intelligence to Benefit Everyone” and a global voice on human-centric AI, digital transformation, and Africa’s smart technology future.
Activities during the event
AI for Economic Empowerment
Speaker
AI for Trade Industry & Inclusive Finance
Samuel Segun
Dr. Samuel Segun is a Senior Researcher at the Global Center on AI Governance and a Research Fellow at the African Observatory on Responsible AI and the AI Ethics Group at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research, University of Pretoria. He is also a Research Fellow with the Research Group on Africa, Philosophy, and Digital Technologies (APDiT) at the Institute of Intelligent Systems, University of Johannesburg.
He previously served as AI Innovation & Technology Consultant for the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, leading the development of a Toolkit on Responsible AI Innovation in Law Enforcement, an INTERPOL-led project. Additionally, he is the Lead Consultant for Arkenstone Advisory and a technical reviewer for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), contributing to the Guidelines for the Development of a National Strategy on AI in Security and Defence.
Dr. Segun is an Instructor in the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics, and Policy in Africa Certificate Program at the University of Cape Town. He has published over 15 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals and has delivered keynote talks, speeches and lectures at major conferences on AI safety, data and computational ethics, algorithmic audit, and responsible AI practice. He is also the editor of several works, including: AI Ethics & Governance in Africa, Selected Issues in the Ethics of AI, Conversations on African Philosophy of Mind, Consciousness and AI.
Dr. Segun has received several prestigious fellowships, including: UNDP West African Youth Integrity Fellowship (2013), Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) Fellowship (2016), Global Excellence Stature Fellowship for Doctoral Research, University of Johannesburg (2018). In 2021, he was appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stellenbosch University School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, where he led research on computational and data ethics.
Activities during the event
AI Ethics
Keynote
Tshilidzi Marwala
As the Rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the UN, Professor Marwala leads global initiatives integrating research, artificial intelligence, and sustainable development. His leadership is shaping how technology can drive inclusive growth and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Before joining the United Nations, he served as Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, where he championed multidisciplinary innovation and technology-driven education strategies that transformed the institution into a hub for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa. At AMLDAfrica26, he will share visionary insights on how AI and human ingenuity can together create a more equitable and sustainable future. Join us as we explore the intersection of AI, leadership, and development across the African continent.
Activities during the event
AI Governance
Panel : Ambassadors