Kenya’s AIfluence closes $1M to scale its AI-powered venture. 1 other thing and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Kenya’s AIfluence closes $1M to scale its AI-powered venture

Kenya-based AI company, AIfluence, has announced raising $1 million in seed investment.

According to the startup, the funding was led by Dubai-based EQ2 Ventures and saw the participation of other investors to include Antler East Africa, Oui Capital, ArabyAds, and an unnamed European family office.

The startup was founded in 2019 by Nelson Aseka, George Issaias, Lamusia Anzaya and Ankit Jindal.

With AI at the core of the product, the founders started AIfluence to accurately match influencers to brands, run end to end influencer marketing campaigns, and bring transparency to the measurement of impact (ROI).

Speaking on the business model of the venture, CEO Aseka, AIfluence, noted that the operation was developed in an audience-first approach, and built on a trust network model where it deploys thousands of nano influencers and followers who have a natural affinity to a brand and exhibit a high emotional connection with the target audience.

He said: “We are at the cusp of a revolution. Globally the way marketing works is changing. We find ourselves at an intersection of advanced technology and the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of digital and social media penetration. It’s an exciting place to be. Africa’s rich tradition for storytelling is alive and kicking.”

Tech Trivia: Which of these is not an image format?
A. JPEG
B. MPEG
C. WebP
D. PNG
Answer: See end of post

2. Envisionit Deep AI wins $50k at Cisco global challenge

South African startup, Envisionit Deep AI, has won $50,000 at the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge.

READ ALSO: Nigerian fintech startup, Payhippo, closes $1m funding. 2 other things and a trivia

The startup won the contest with its healthcare solution, Radify, finishing as the second runner-up and one of the top 20 winning teams.

The challenge, which was founded in 2017, offers cash prizes to early-stage startups that have developed technology solutions to economic, social, or environmental problems.

According to the contest board, the challenge received 1 745 entries from 126 countries worldwide.

Speaking on the development, Envisionit Deep AI Co-founder and CEO, Dr Jaishree Naidoo, said the cash prize will go a long way to help the startup continue on its mission.

He said: “The $50 000 USD prize is an acknowledgement of hope to continue our mission, which is to address challenges in medical imaging diagnosis.”

Tech Trivia Answer: MPEG

The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an alliance of working groups of ISO and IEC that sets standards for media coding, including compression coding of audio, video, graphics and genomic data, and transmission and file formats for various applications.

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