Building Bridges Between Africa and the Global AI Industry

What is impact sourcing? Impact sourcing is a business model that emphasizes creating social and economic value by providing jobs and income to people facing significant barriers to employment. It bridges the gap between disadvantaged communities and the global economy. 

We created Yenda in the wake of covid when remote work was increasing in popularity. Zambians are highly educated but there are no job opportunities available after university. With the AI industry booming and Africans being particularly tech-savvy and digitally minded, we decided to hone in on connecting university students to growing AI companies who would need more hands on deck but are cost-conscious.

Connecting Africa’s talent with the global AI industry creates job opportunities that aren’t currently present.

Our process starts by posting the job to our internal talent pool, interviewing all interested candidates, and testing their current skill-set for the specific job. After we hand-pick the team for the job, we then create a Google classroom and conduct training and up-skilling for the specific job and equip our freelancers to succeed. We fully manage the team and assign a project lead to handle day to day operations and update the client on daily/weekly KPIs. Finally, we monitor and evaluate the output and improve processes until quality is 100%. 

As AI becomes more prevalent in different sectors, such as agriculture, healthcare, law, and finance, we believe Africa will lead in the AI revolution by providing industry-specific expertise and skill. Africa is experiencing a significant digital transformation; the African Union has launched the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030), which aims to accelerate digital transformation across the continent and leverage digital technologies to drive economic growth and development. With our tech-savvy young adults, we believe Africa will play a key role in advancing artificial intelligence through global partnerships. 

In conclusion, impact sourcing is connecting remote opportunities to individuals in a high unemployment region. Yenda specifically connects AI companies to university students and recent graduates in Zambia. We address unemployment in Zambia by advertising earning opportunities, training and up-skilling the candidates for the job, and fully managing the team. We are convinced the digital revolution in Africa will push boundaries and advance the artificial intelligence industry across all sectors.