Thirty Nine innovators with groundbreaking projects have completed a one-week training program on AI & IoT Prototyping and Entrepreneurship in two parallel sessions. The training sessions, organized by the African Centre of Excellence in Internet of Things (ACEIoT) in collaboration with FAB-Lab and Narada Ltd, were part of the “IoT and AI Applied Research Results Commercialization Through Incubation Hub” project funded by Chemonics under RISA Fund program. The sessions, which were held from July 22nd to 26th, 2024, each included 20 participants. The trainings targeted 40 innovators but only 39 were able to participate.

The training targeted individuals from UR students and Alumni who had expressed a desire to refine their innovative projects. Prof. Damien Hanyurwimfura, the Project Investigator emphasized that the training aimed to “empower participants with an AI and IoT based innovation with entrepreneurial mindset and business skills to enhance their job prospects, develop intrapreneurship skills, and embark on their entrepreneurship journey.”
The AI & IoT prototyping session was hands-on, focusing on building open, low-cost, and sustainable IoT solutions. During this training participants were encouraged to share knowledge, learn from one another, and explored various rapid prototyping approaches in IoT and AI.
It is expected that the Commercialization training will follow and after which there will be projects pitching sessions and few best projects will get some funding to support them for further step in commercialization process.
Participants Feedback
Participants who attended both sessions reported gaining valuable skills to improve their innovative prototypes. Thacienne Tuyambaze, a trainee in the Entrepreneurship program, shared her enthusiasm: “I am excited and honoured to have attended this training. We learned how to validate our business ideas, gather feedback from our target beneficiaries, understand their challenges, and refine our value propositions to address those challenges effectively.”
She continued, “As I plan to start my own business, I will apply the skills I gained from this training to build my team and ensure our product meets the expected outcomes. This will help me realize my dream of becoming an entrepreneur.”
Jeannette Dusengimana, who attended the AI & IoT Prototyping session, described the training as ‘good and interesting.’ “We learned how to use components like machine learning to detect and analyze sounds and images. We also learned how to train models and program computers to identify images based on the models used,” she said.
Mugisho Vital Taka, an IoT student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, participated in the AI & IoT Prototyping session. He remarked, “We learned how to connect sensors, build APIs in the system, and develop machine learning models. For instance, we learned how to predict house prices based on parameters such as the number of rooms and the size of the compound.”
Mugisho noted that the skills acquired will greatly benefit his project on designing and developing an IoT and AI-based system for monitoring black soldier fly larvae growth.
IoT & AI Applied Research Results Commercialization Through Incubation Hub” project is funded by Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA), a multi-country project funded by the UK through the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) to support research and innovation systems strengthening in Africa.