Meta has unveiled the recipients of the 2023 Llama Impact Grants and Innovation Awards, a program aimed at promoting innovative uses of Llama 2 and Llama 3 models to address critical social challenges. Launched in October 2023, the initiative attracted over 800 submissions from organizations in more than 90 countries, showcasing the potential of AI to solve pressing issues in education, environmental sustainability, and technological advancement.
Two notable projects with a direct impact on Kenya include:
- Digital Green’s Farmer Chat Project – This AI-powered chatbot, driven by Llama, offers multilingual, real-time agricultural advice to small-scale farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya. The project seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by providing farmers with tailored, region-specific information, empowering them to make better agricultural decisions.
- Jacaranda Health’s PROMPTS Program – This initiative offers AI-driven maternal health support through SMS-based behavioural nudges and a clinical helpdesk, aimed at new and expectant mothers across Kenya. By expanding access to crucial health information, PROMPTS helps improve maternal outcomes in underserved regions.
Meta also awarded smaller grants to African initiatives like HelpMum and the Tanzania AI Community’s Twiga, which focus on healthcare and education in other regions of the continent.
With applications for the Llama 3.1 Impact Grants open until November 2024, Kenyan innovators have the opportunity to further harness AI technology to address local challenges. Meta’s support underscores Kenya’s growing prominence in global tech-driven social impact initiatives, with Llama models offering comprehensive, multilingual conversational capabilities in Swahili, Kikuyu, Hindi, and more.
