Sama has announced plans to hire and train 2,000 youth and women to work on computer visioning projects for leading Fortune 500 companies.
Sama is a leader in providing data annotation and model validation solutions. This comes at a time when the firm has been sued by Facebook content moderators.
The 2,000 new Sama employees will be trained in computer vision and data labelling services, a field that is in high demand by AI developers and Machine Learning (ML) engineers globally. They will work on various projects, including labelling images and videos for machine learning algorithms as part of upstream AI data building. The initiative is part of Sama’s mission to expand opportunities for the underserved through the digital economy in Kenya and Uganda. To date, Sama has helped over 65,000+ people lift themselves out of poverty and build sustainable careers in the tech industry.
According to recent research by the McKinsey Global Institute on generative AI and productivity, the AI value chain can generate value equivalent to $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in global corporate profits annually.
The first 600 participants in Nairobi have already been hired and are currently undergoing training. The remaining 1,500 participants will be hired in the coming weeks. The new cohort will join Sama’s dynamic team of over 3,000 staff in Nairobi to work on computer vision AI projects for some of the leading global companies.
The training program will cover a variety of areas, including computer vision, machine learning, and data annotation. Participants will also receive soft skills training on topics such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Sama is a leader in the impact sourcing model and the company has a proven track record of delivering high-quality services to its clients while creating sustainable employment opportunities for talented yet underserved communities in Kenya, Uganda and India. The company’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability has earned it recognition from industry leaders and organizations around the world.
Locally, Sama has been in Kenya for the last 15 years and continues to provide quality formal jobs for Kenyans, providing value chain AI solutions for self-driving cars, virtual reality gaming consoles, fashion segmentation, and agricultural solutions for crop disease protection.
Sama Vice President, Global Service Delivery Annepeace Alwala, said “The digital economy has emerged as a transformative force globally, and Kenya is well positioned to contribute to creating a more inclusive AI ecosystem where everyone has a chance to make a meaningful impact. The heart of Sama’s mission lies in harnessing the potential of marginalized communities and providing them with the tools and skills they need to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. By focusing on underserved youth and women in Nairobi, Sama aims to bridge the digital divide and pave the way for sustainable economic growth. Through this initiative, we are not only creating employment opportunities for Kenyan youths but also ensuring that Kenya plays a significant role in shaping the future of AI development. Together, we’re fostering innovation, creating opportunities, and building a brighter future where Kenyan talent fuels the global AI revolution.”
Supported by a conducive business environment, Sama has intentions to avail more work to the youth in Kenya through its global partnerships and anticipates that the number of people to hire can double in the coming months. This aligns with the Government’s agenda on creating digital jobs.
According to a recently released UNCTAD report titled: The Economic Development in Africa Report 2023: The Potential of Africa to Capture Technology-intensive Global Supply Chains, as technology-intensive industries tend to offer higher wages and can have a positive job-multiplier effect, the potential of generating more employment in those sectors will have undeniable benefits for the workforce and foster sustainable development in Africa. Facilitating a conducive environment for firms in those industries to establish or build new supplier relationships in African countries can help raise wages in Africa, which are set at a minimum of $220 per month, compared with an average of $668 in the Americas.
The global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market is estimated to be valued at more than US$ 262 billion, with African countries continuing to emerge as the next BPO growth frontiers. The BPO sector is crucial in developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems that power the automotive, retail, agricultural, and food technology sectors.