Speaking at the Data Science Nigeria (DSN) 2025 AI Bootcamp held at the University of Lagos, Sanya challenged young innovators to focus on how they use technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve real societal problems.

“For me, the key message is: what are we doing with the knowledge we have? How are we impacting our communities, our nation, and the world?” she said. “The moment we can crack that, then we are truly on to something.”

Sanya, who has worked extensively on empowerment and capacity-building initiatives, underscored the need for greater synergy between the classroom and industry, citing global examples where interdisciplinary collaboration has yielded innovation.

“In countries like the Netherlands, engineers and medical doctors work together to optimize healthcare processes. We need to replicate that kind of collaboration here, bridging the gap between universities, industries, and communities,” she said. “At the end of the day, the knowledge we acquire should make industries better and positively impact the community.”

Driving Inclusivity: Women and Language in AI

On gender inclusivity, Sanya noted that while efforts to increase women’s participation in science and technology are gaining ground, more deliberate social reorientation and educational reforms are required.

“It’s not just about women in AI, but women in tech and science generally. Through our STEM scholarships, we’ve achieved a 50-50 gender balance this year, without lowering standards,” she shared. “We must socialize girls early, reorient our education system, and even recruit traditional, religious, and community leaders as champions of this cause.”

She proposed integrating AI learning into community spaces such as churches, mosques, and local centers to make knowledge accessible to women who may not have the opportunity to attend formal institutions.

Sanya also addressed the need to overcome language barriers to inclusion, describing linguistic diversity as Nigeria’s hidden digital divide.

“Inclusivity in Nigeria is not just about gender, it’s about language. With over 200 local languages, people should be able to learn in their native tongue,” she said. “Breaking the language barrier will help bridge gaps in literacy and numeracy, allowing millions of out-of-school children and even adults to benefit from AI-driven learning.”

MTN Foundation’s Broader Vision

Highlighting MTN Foundation’s role in youth empowerment, Sanya reaffirmed that the Foundation remains committed to creating opportunities for young Nigerians through initiatives in health, education, and digital skills.

“For us at the Foundation, it’s all about young people. Whether it’s in health, where we focus on mothers and children, or in youth development, we’re deeply committed to the Nigerian youth,” she stated. “DSN is doing a great job, and our participation here reinforces our commitment to supporting initiatives that prepare young people for the future.”

When asked about the key skills required for Africa’s digital future, Sanya stressed the importance of problem-solving, collaboration, and ethical AI use.

“You must be able to solve problems. Knowledge without the ability to solve real issues doesn’t create impact,” she said. “We must humanize our use of data and apply AI ethically and responsibly.”

She concluded by describing Africa’s AI future in one word: “Limitless.”

Dr. Victor Odumuyiwa, acting director of the NITDA IT Hub (NITHub) at the University of Lagos, emphasized the importance of lifelong learning, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, and analytical thinking as essential skill sets for individuals seeking to remain competitive in an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

This bold initiative establishes a community of practice dedicated to driving inclusive innovation, collaboration, and sustainable development across Nigeria’s dynamic AI landscape.

The launch event was headlined by Dr. Bosun Tijani, the honourable minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, who served as Chief Host.

His participation emphasized the Nigerian government’s unwavering commitment to leveraging AI as a transformative driver for economic growth, digital resilience, and inclusive national progress.

Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, CEO of Data Science Nigeria—one of the implementing partners of the Nigeria AI Collective — during his opening speech outlined the Collective’s core focus areas, including research and development, sector-based innovation, policy influence, and global partnerships.

“The AI Collective will catalyze sectoral transformation by building networks that drive AI adoption across key industries,” he noted. “We invite industry stakeholders to step forward as sector champions across domains such as telecommunications, real estate, the creative economy, government, healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, and fintech.”

A major highlight of the event was the official launch of Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, a strategic roadmap designed to harness AI-driven productivity and economic expansion across diverse sectors.

In his keynote, Dr. Tijani emphasized the inclusive and globally recognized process that shaped the strategy:

“The National AI Strategy was developed through an open, collaborative process involving government, academia, and industry,” he said. “It reflects a distinctly Nigerian approach—drawing on the expertise of local and diaspora talents—to craft a forward-looking, locally relevant, and globally aligned framework for development.”

Professor Yinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School, further elaborated on the strategic pillars underpinning the National AI Strategy:

“This strategy is centered on technical excellence, talent development, and collaborative innovation,” she stated. “With 12 ambitious goals and 34 actionable initiatives, it is purposefully built to accelerate economic progress, foster social impact, and position Nigeria as a hub for AI excellence on the global stage.”

The event also witnessed the unveiling of three transformative initiatives aimed at operationalizing the AI Collective’s vision:

• Nigerian AI Collective Executive Series: A must-have 13-part bite-sized video series designed for business leaders and executives seeking to harness the power of AI to enhance productivity, drive industrial and sectoral growth, and foster broader socio-economic development.

Access the learning series here.

• Nigeria AI Collective Diaspora-Connect: A digital bridge for collaboration between local AI professionals and the global Nigerian AI diaspora.
• Nigerian AI Repository: A curated showcase of all artificial intelligence innovations and developments across Nigeria. This catalogue captures the full spectrum of AI advancement in the country — from documented innovation use cases and data collection initiatives to emerging tools and technologies supporting AI implementation. It also features notable events, news, and key milestones that highlight Nigeria’s growing footprint in the global AI ecosystem.
• Sectorial AI Networks: The official kickoff of focused industry networks to drive peer learning, policy dialogue, and scalable innovation.

This is more than the launch of a community, it marks the beginning of a national movement. The AI Collective is connecting Nigeria’s brightest minds, strategic partners, and policymakers into one unified force, guided by the shared belief that AI can solve real problems and build a future that reflects our collective aspirations.

A full highlight video of the event is now available on YouTube.

The summit gathered leaders from various sectors and NGOs to learn and network collaboratively, showcasing the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for non-profits and social enterprises.

AI offers great potential for non-profits to transform their social impact interventions at scale. As a general-purpose technology, it can improve the quality of lives of citizens in various sectors, such as health, financial inclusion, agriculture, and education.

By showcasing how AI can significantly improve efficiency, scale impact, and address socio-economic challenges, the summit demonstrated the relevance and importance of AI for low-resourced countries like Nigeria.

During the event, Winnie Karanu, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) philanthropies lead at Microsoft, reaffirmed Microsoft’s commitment to driving AI transformation in the sector, stating:

“At Microsoft, we believe that AI can be a powerful force for good in Nigeria, where it can help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the country. That is why we are dedicated to equipping non-profits with the AI tools and knowledge they need to amplify their impact and create a more prosperous and sustainable future for all.“

An engaging panel discussion moderated by Dr. Bayo Adekanmbi, CEO/Founder of Data Science Nigeria, focused on the role of AI in social good, sharing practical examples and emphasizing the importance of ethical AI development.

The panel included top professionals such as Dr. Oladipupo Sennaike, a senior lecturer from the University of Lagos and one of the principal investigators of the EduAI Hub; Ms. Odunayo Sanya, executive director of MTN Foundation; Dr. Frederick Atenaga, Information Management Officer and expert on Humanitarian Affairs; and Mr. Sunday Taiwo, Head ICT and Vice President of GIEVA, the grant winner of the renowned Microsoft and DataDotOrg Grant.

Participants at the Summit also engaged in hands-on workshops, acquiring practical AI skills to apply in their organizations, and explored a variety of cutting-edge digital tools designed to enhance the social impact of non-profits.

These sessions provided a great opportunity to demonstrate emerging AI applications for key non-profit operations such as fundraising, program planning, human resource management, partner management, outreach optimization, personalized donor management, and precision-based intervention.

Reliance Infosystems Limited, a Microsoft Tech for Social Impact Partner, made a substantial contribution by demonstrating non-profit industry innovation on Microsoft business applications.

Its focus included fundraising and engagement, volunteer management, and program impact dashboards.

Microsoft and DSN share a vision of digital inclusivity and skills development for non-profits. This mission is supported by Microsoft’s Philanthropies team, which also partners with the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide digital skills across the country through the Digital Skills Nigeria platform.

For more insights into the program, watch the documentary here.

Dr. Bayo Adekanmbi, founder/CEO of DSN, highlighted the importance of ongoing AI capacity development efforts.

“Our collaboration with Microsoft aims to equip Nigerian non-profits with the skills needed to create inclusive and equitable AI applications. This initiative will enable these organizations to address critical issues in health, finance, agriculture, and education, focusing on the practical application of AI across sectors.”

Ultimately, the collaboration hopes to drive significant social impact in Nigeria by demonstrating the potential for AI to support social good initiatives and offering practical insights on how to leverage the technology for programmatic and capacity development purposes.

Participants were invited to explore the Microsoft non-profit platform, a valuable resource that can be accessed here.

The Bootcamp will be hosted by Covenant University, Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria. The event will bring together Artificial Intelligence (AI) enthusiasts, experts, and stakeholders from across Africa after a six-month learning period which will culminate in a one-week intense and all-expenses-paid bootcamp.

Now in its 7th edition, the AI bootcamp, has been held since 2017 and has become the ultimate talent pipeline for leading global organizations and a massive awareness platform for many young Africans. The 2023 pre-selection learning sessions will run across the 36 states in Nigeria  and 13 African countries. The bootcamp and its extended prequalification cycle are designed to equip participants with practical skills and knowledge to make meaningful contributions to the development and adoption of AI in Africa.

The 2023 DSN AI bootcamp will comprise three stages. First is  the free introductory Artificial Intelligence/Data Science classes, which will be held in over 150 cities in 36 states of Nigeria and in 13 African countries from March 20th to April 22nd. Next is a 50-day online AI Bootcamp pre-learning study that will run from April 15th to June 3rd.

The final stage will be the DSN AI bootcamp qualification hackathon to build analytical models from June 5th to June 26th, where the top 500 participants will be selected to attend the AI bootcamp event.

The 2023 bootcamp will feature over 30 world-class tutors, six learning streams, 40+ hours of learning, research poster presentations, job showcase, and several award categories, including Miss Algorithm and Mr. Algorithm awards, the Best Female Data Scientist award, the Best Poster Award, and the AI School of the Year award.

The annual award of the DSN AI School of the year is awarded to the school with the highest number of participants who qualified for the bootcamp and is rewarded with Artificial Intelligence books worth 1 million Naira, and these books are publicly donated to the school’s library. These donations aim to build consistency and improve AI knowledge among the communities. Some of the past winners of DSN AI School of the year award include the DSN learning clubs in the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Ibadan.

To ensure that the AI bootcamp is accessible to all participants irrespective of their background, DSN has arranged the bootcamp to be fully free, including accommodation, feeding, learning materials, and travel incentives for all the AI Bootcamp’s top 500 selected participants.

As part of the preparation for the 2023 edition, the management of DSN paid a courtesy visit to the management of the Covenant University, Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria as the host campus of the 2023 edition.

The DSN team was warmly received by the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Covenant University, Professor Abiodun Humphrey Adebayo and his senior leadership team. The VC affirmed the institution’s commitment for strategic partnership that will reinforce the established leadership of the Covenant University, which is the only Nigerian institution in many global rankings including the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking. Other members of the Covenant University leadership in the meeting include the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olujide Adekeye; Acting Registrar, Mrs. Regina Tobi-David; Director, Financial Services, Pastor Olugbenga Kiki; Dean, College of Science and Technology, Professor Timothy Anake; Director, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Professor Omotayo Osibanjo; Head, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Professor Funke Oladipupo; and Director, Centre for Systems and Information Services, Engr. Boladele Akanle.

The AI Bootcamp  has become a reputable  event in the African AI community, providing a platform for learning, networking, job creation and innovation. Organizations that have recruited from or partnered with the bootcamp include Google, Microsoft, Access bank, KPMG, Axa Mansard, FCMB, GRID 3, Retina AI, Terragon, Bluechip, and Roche.

DSN is committed to building a strong AI ecosystem in Africa, and the AI Bootcamp is one of the initiatives it has undertaken to achieve this goal.

The full details of the 6-month-long learning is available here.

DSN past AI Bootcamps have been supported by leading global organizations like Microsoft, Softcom, KPMG, BigML, Retina-AI, Bluechip Technologies, Axa Mansard, Proshare Foundation, Virtual Chair, Interswitch, Diamond Bank, OneFi, L5Lab, Keoun.ng, ProShare Nigeria, Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, DataCamp, BusinessDay, CFATech.ng, BrandCrunch and the Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa.

DSN is a high-impact capacity building social enterprise that has been in the forefront of homegrown digital skill development in Africa, having provided learning opportunities to over 500,000 learners through its extensive face-to-face, online, hybrid, project-based and job participation interventions across all the states in Nigeria and 13 African countries.

DSN is driven by a vision to raise 1 million Artificial Intelligence talents who are empowered to build local solutions that will improve the quality of life of over 2 billion people in the emerging market. In 2021, DSN made global news when two of its homegrown products were listed in the Global Top 100 list of Artificial Intelligence (AI) products for social impact by the International Research Centre in Artificial Intelligence (IRCAI), under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

A virtual workshop convened online safety practitioners and stakeholders in Nigeria on the first day of the event to kickstart conversations that further the understanding of digital spaces and experiences, particularly for young people, and to consider the tools and strategies to make these conversations more extensive and effective across contexts.

The conversation which included policymakers, industry, academia, and civil society as participants featured the Principal Manager NCC Lagos Zonal Office Ms. Ijeoma Bassey, TikTok Government Affairs and Public Policy Director for SSA Fortune Sibanda, Google Public Policy and Government Affairs Manager for Nigeria, Dawn Dimowo and Head of Safety Policy for Africa Middle East and Turkey at Meta, Syliva Musalagani.

The workshop was educational and informed policymakers with an interest in online (child) safety; encouraging a balanced and informed approach to regulatory efforts and discussing the shared responsibilities to ensure the use of new media to promote health, wellness, and educational benefits for children and young people. 

During a hybrid workshop for educators, CSOs, and parents on Day 2 with educators and CSOs, Techsocietal’s Executive Director, Temitope Ogundipe shared insights about Nigerian children’s daily internet use and how educators and parents can build children’s cyber resilience. 

Mr. Adewolu Adene, Google Government Affairs & Public Policy Manager, Nigeria shared resources from Google with participants for building a safer, more trusted internet, including the ‘Google Family Link’ and ‘Be Internet Awesome Campaign.’

The Principal Manager, Nigerian Communications Commission, Lagos Zone, Ms. Ijeoma Bassey, also gave a presentation on the ‘Child Online Protection’ initiative, discussing the roles of the various stakeholders in keeping children safe online and distributing COP resources to schools and CSOs present. 

Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, CEO/Founder of Data Science Nigeria (DSN), introduced TikTok’s  ‘Safer Together’ campaign and discussed TikTok’s safety tools for the family.

Participants left the workshops with a commitment to spread knowledge, build children’s digital resilience in classrooms, communities, and families, and do their bit to ensure a safer online experience for Nigerian children. 

Techsocietal is a non-profit social enterprise focused on reducing digital inequalities and digital harms by fostering safety, rights, and inclusion online, for vulnerable and underserved groups, including women and youth. TechSocietal engages with technology and/or digital policies and programs for safety, rights, and inclusion, and works in areas of capacity building and research.

With a median age of 17 years and the increasing need for young Africans to participate in the digital economy, there is an urgency to prepare primary and secondary students in sub-Saharan Africa to access the over 230 million jobs which will require digital skills by 2030.

The product, “MacroTutor”, is an AI-powered, on-demand, and affordable edtech solution for schools and parents to access the best quality teachers and digital learning content in expert areas such as Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Programming, Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Interaction Design etc.

The platform will democratize access to world-class digital skill acquisition through a network of well-trained tutors who can deliver personalized and curriculum-based learning at students’ homes on a one-on-one basis or to a group of students in a school.

For schools, this will be a significant value-add to enhance the learning outcome of students while eliminating the additional cost of full-time digital/ICT teachers. MacroTutor will provide a cheaper alternative to high-quality teachers and world-class content at the rates that any low to medium-cost schools can afford.

With this inclusive, pervasive and more affordable access to digital skills, no child is left behind across the continent.

MacroTutor’s product innovation is aimed to bridge the capacity gaps between what is being currently taught in Nigerian schools and the future-ready skills that learners will require to participate, contribute, and compete in the global world.

As it has been generally acknowledged, digital literacy and hands-on computing skills will become foundational competencies which every professional must have. Hence, the need to start early through bespoke and context-aware learning interventions built on the peculiar challenges of the emerging market, especially in the areas of localized technological curriculum and distributed on-demand expert network.

Speaking on the initiative, Toyin Adekanmbi, the Executive Director of DSN, described it as “a creative and innovative approach to democratize computer and ICT education in Nigeria, which ensures that any school can offer world-class digital subjects and provide future-focused learning to students without any cashflow strain and an additional salary cost. Old students associations and Parents-Teachers-Associations can even support their schools with dedicated digital education teachers”.

MacroTutor will be the ultimate destination to access the best digital teachers at the most affordable rate for parents and schools who desire to prepare their students for the skills and expertise to drive global competitiveness in the future.

Schools can get a tutor on the platform by visiting here while parents can also download the app, “MacroTutor” from Google Play or Apple iOS store to request a tutor.

The Top 100 project aims to scope and showcase effective and impactful solutions from around the world contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The selection process was rigorous as the reviewers were explicitly looking for presentable solutions that directly or indirectly solve one or more sustainable development problems and research innovations implemented in these solutions.

The two products from DSN listed in the IRCAI/UNESCO Global Top 100 list are DSN’s EdTech AI Adaptive Learning Engine, which was recognized as a Promising Project, and DSN’s AI Health Prescription Platform listed as an Early-Stage project.

The DSN EdTech AI Adaptive Learning Engine delivers AI-powered personalised learning through a mix of audio classes and interactive SMS to bridge educational gaps for learners who have no access to the internet or internet-ready devices.

It uses adaptive knowledge management engine built on predictive analytics and a recommendation engine to deliver customized learning.

The solution was supported by the Mastercard Foundation to deliver remedial learning to over eight million learners during the lockdown of schools in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AI Health Prescription Platform focuses on simplifying the medical prescription process through its AI-powered Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system that mitigates medication errors through automated digitization of handwritten medical prescriptions in low-resourced health systems.

The platform converts images of any hand-written drug prescription into readable formats to help the last mile drug dispensing process. This solution is expected to improve health delivery outcomes in low-income countries.

DSN’s research works and products have been showcased, recognized, and celebrated at many global events.

In 2020, DSN won the best academic poster award at the 21st ACM Conference on Economics &  Computer (EC’ 20)- the world’s premier conference on Economics and Computer Science interface.

It also emerged as the only African finalist in the XPRIZE $500k Pandemic Response Challenge.

DSN’s has recently relaunched itself with an expanded program delivery, multi-country operation and product innovation roadmap, to further reinforce its mandate to raise one million Artificial Intelligence (AI) talents and lead the development of AI solutions that will enhance the quality of life and well-being of over two billion people in emerging markets.

The company recently kicked off an AI-focused startup AI lab- The DSN AI Start-up Lab aimed at growing the Nigerian innovation ecosystem, especially those focused on the use of Artificial Intelligence.

DSN has built the most inclusive Artificial Intelligence learning network across universities and cities in Nigeria with about 50 learning centres.