The Joburg Startups Transforming Enterprise AI

By Adel Adams

Where innovation meets enterprise, South Africa’s startup sector is booming. From edtech to healthcare to blockchain, South African startups are developing cutting-edge solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. This week we take a look at some of the Joburg Startups Transforming Enterprise AI:

Lelapa AI 

Lelapa AI is building resource-efficient AI solutions from Africa to take to the world. Their mission is focused on a socially grounded, Africa-centric AI research & product lab built upon three primary intentions: Wisdom, Family and Home. Founder Pelonomi Moiloa was recently named Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence in 2023. 

“Lelapa AI was founded because experience has shown us that when we import models developed in the West to deploy them in the African context, they often fail. Sometimes, this technology not only doesn’t work, but it is harmful,” explains the entrepreneur. “The risks detected in AI biases in the rest of the world are even more dangerous in Africa. AI technology can absorb social prejudices and perpetuate power structures and violence, and with them, discrimination.

Lelapa AI aims to build Africa-focused language learning models. Their flagship product, Vulavula is a ‘natural-language-processor-as-a-service’ that transcribes voice to text, translates it into vernacular languages and can analyse the emotional tone of the message. 

Envisionit Deep AI

Envisionit Deep AI is an innovative medical technology SME in the UK and Africa utilising AI to transform medical imaging diagnosis. Their focus is on elevating patient care, particularly for the youngest and most vulnerable population. 

The startup has a suite of products that it plans to scale beyond South Africa, including the Radify AI platform (which recently received approval from the South African Health Products Regulatory Association) that ensures speedy, accurate, quality and affordable medical imaging diagnoses, factors that are critical in early diagnosis and treatment of disease. 

Envisionit Deep AI has also recently rolled out a computer-assisted training model for medical practitioners who want to gain radiology skills. 

Vizibiliti Insight

Vizibiliti uses proprietary mobile device risk scoring data to provide detailed risk scoring information on fat, thin and no-file consumers. Vizibiliti’s proprietary AI engine scores alternative mobile device data producing an easy-to-consume Vizibiliti risk score to increase sales with less default risk. Using the Alternative Risk Scoring Data, Vizibiliti’s can predict positive and negative risk that can be used throughout the consumer & business credit life cycle. 

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