The Rise of Data Analytics in Africa: Addressing Language and Talent Challenges
In 2021, Nour Altaher and Omar Mansour established Intella, a startup that identified a gap in Africa’s data analytics market. Their aim was to rectify the lack of Arabic representation in speech-to-text technologies by utilizing artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data sets. Intella’s goal was to revolutionize contact centre voice recordings into valuable business analytics through cloud-based solutions, indicating a significant advancement in Africa’s data analytics industry.
From an initial $1 million raise in 2022 to securing $3.4 million in funding in 2023, led by HALA Ventures and Wa’ed Ventures, Intella’s journey mirrors the increasing momentum in Africa’s data analytics sector. Co-founder Nour Altaher emphasized the significance of harnessing speech tech to curate datasets for the Arabic language, addressing the necessity to bridge the gap between global AI advancements and underrepresented languages, beginning with Arabic.
Expanding its scope in audio analytics, Intella now offers features such as summarization, sentiment analysis, topic extraction, and call scoring. With a 95.7% accuracy rate across 25 Arabic dialects, Intella Voice continues to deepen its use in Arabic dialects, even in complex scenarios. The company’s wide application of their technology extends to various sectors, including call centres, media agencies, and government bodies.
With a significant Arabic-speaking population in Africa and Arabic’s influence on the Swahili language, Intella is strategically broadening its reach across the continent, offering a distinct advantage in other languages like Swahili. The company’s proficiency in Arabic and extensive datasets enables them to effectively expand services to other languages.
In the rapidly evolving data analytics landscape of Africa, several SME firms are emerging, indicating a keen investor interest in nurturing financial technologies for emerging markets. However, ongoing challenges include the departure of data analysts from the continent and the need for SMEs to creatively access useful data for business.
Initiatives like Data Science Nigeria (DSN) are focusing on enhancing the big data and machine learning ecosystem to secure a substantial portion of this growing sector and pivot Nigeria’s economy towards a data-driven model. Africa’s enthusiastic participation in digital learning and emphasis on early and radical training programs highlight the growing importance of nurturing and retaining talent within the continent.
The rise of data analytics in Africa not only showcases the continent’s ability to address language and talent challenges but also its potential to lead the global surge in professional course enrollments.
