Microsoft Research Lab – Africa, Nairobi

Google Research Africa focuses on identifying and addressing the most pressing challenges facing the continent, and aims to develop impactful solutions at scale. From forecasting and mitigating floods, to forecasting and optimizing food security, we’re harnessing the power of AI to drive societal impact. In this talk, we introduce the Open Buildings dataset, a collection of >1.8 billion building detections across the globe. We show how improved mapping from the building footprints is being used to support energy planning, study urbanization and plan surveys in Africa and beyond.

Dr. John Wamburu is a Research Engineer at Google. His current work focuses on building and applying AI/ML models to forecast global food insecurity. Previously, he was a Research Scientist at IBM where he focused on trustworthy AI and anomalous pattern discovery. He received his Ph.D. in 2023 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he worked on interdisciplinary topics cutting across cyber-physical systems and green energy. His work won the ACM SIGEnergy Doctoral Dissertation Award 2024. 

Smallholder farmers often face a critical barrier: limited access to timely, localized, and actionable agricultural advice. Traditional in-person extension services are costly and often fail to reach the majority of farmers consistently. Meanwhile, digital tools show promise—but adoption remains inconsistent, especially when they aren’t designed with farmers’ real usage patterns and information needs in mind.

Farmer.Chat is changing that. Developed by Digital Green, this AI-powered mobile app allows farmers to ask questions using voice, text, or images—in their local languages—and receive instant, personalized responses in text, audio and video as well. Whether its advice on when to plant, how to manage pests, or how and when to use inputs, Farmer.Chat meets farmers where they are: on their phones, in their languages, and in their fields.

This talk will highlight how Farmer.Chat is using large and small language models (LLMs and SLMs) to deliver relevant agricultural guidance at scale—while remaining cost-effective, inclusive, and adaptive. We’ll explore how the app is being used by thousands of farmers, the kinds of questions they’re asking, and how farmer feedback is continuously improving the AI’s accuracy and relevance.

Dr. Jacqueline Wang’ombe is a dynamic professional whose expertise bridges veterinary medicine, agricultural economics, and data science. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, she is deeply committed to transforming agriculture through data-driven innovation and strategic stakeholder engagement, with a particular focus on livestock economics and sustainable productivity.

In her current role as a Data Scientist and Project Manager at Digital Green, Jacqueline leads the strategic execution of agricultural development programs. Her efforts have directly contributed to improving the livelihoods of over 25,500 farmers by deploying AI-powered advisory tools like Farmer.Chat, fostering climate-smart practices, and strengthening agricultural systems across Kenya.

Generative AI has the potential to positively influence health-related behaviour change in consumers.  We will discuss an innovative direct-to-consumer GenAI chatbot that aims to provide personalized health information, empathetic psychosocial support and behaviour change nudges to people living with HIV. We will explore the key opportunities and challenges in use of Generative AI in evolving the practice of social and behaviour change communication for health.

Driven by a passion for innovation, Wycliffe is dedicated to developing solutions that address global health challenges using technology and data. He serves as Head, Digital Health and Monitoring in PSI’s Global Digital Health team. At PSI, Wycliffe leads implementation of digital health and data analytics activities at the global and country level. With more than two decades of experience in Global Health, Mr. Waweru specializes in supporting health system actors, from both the public and private sectors, to design and implement sustainable and scalable digital health solutions. He holds an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.