Wrap-Up: IDinsight Hosts ‘Innovating for Inclusive Impact’ Event in Nairobi

On July 31, IDinsight’s East & Southern Africa regional office hosted partners, clients, and funders for an interactive event in Nairobi on the theme of “Innovating for Inclusive Impact.” The event brought together social sector leaders in the region to discuss how to leverage emerging technologies for greater impact. Participants discussed advances in research, evaluation, data collection, and data science that could revolutionize the sector and redefine development.

Dr. Frida Njogu-Ndongwe, the Regional Director, East & Southern Africa at IDinsight opened the event with remarks highlighting the orgaization’s varied collaborations across the region and our approach to partnership:

“We come alongside decision-makers as they navigate difficult situations to provide information or data that can help them answer their most important questions, providing a basis upon which to make decisions.” 

IDinsight CEO Rebecca Gong Sharp, who re-joined IDinsight earlier this year, introduced herself and talked about IDinsight’s commitment to utilizing cutting-edge data and evidence-based strategies to guarantee that no one is left behind. She shared how IDinsight is investing in cutting-edge new tools like data science, machine learning, software for large-scale data collection, and generative AI:

“These tools have widespread application for social good on the African continent and are incredibly fast-evolving. We don’t want them to be applied only to solving frivolous issues like calendar optimization or cheating on high school exams,” Sharp said. “We want these technologies to help move the needle on some of the most pressing problems of our time – health, education, and income generation for the world’s neediest,” she added.

Ms. Roseline Kathure Njogu, CBS, the Inaugural Principal Secretary of the State Department for Diaspora Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs, delivered a keynote address that emphasized the importance of leveraging data analytics to support the Kenyan diaspora. Profiling diaspora communities from 195 countries, she highlighted the diverse geographies, income levels, and employment statuses of Kenyans abroad. Ms. Njogu underscored the potential of using data to identify investment opportunities for the diaspora, employing sentiment analysis to tailor government responses, and utilizing technology such as AI and GIS for emergency route mapping. However, she also raised concerns about data security and ownership, advocating for AI models that are contextually relevant to Kenya. She stressed the need for robust ethics and governance frameworks to regulate AI development and ensure it benefits the Kenyan diaspora effectively and responsibly.

IDinsight Director, Dr. Alison Connor presented to the audience some of the latest innovations at IDinsight, including how the Dignity Initiative is providing tools to uphold dignity in development, how DataDelta is revolutionizing data collection, and our data science work that is using cutting-edge tools to help decision-makers predict, optimize and model program outcomes.

During an animated panel discussion moderated by IDInsight Director, Nyawira Gitahi-Muriithi, a panel of experts from the social sector, government, and civil society discussed the the role of AI in enabling inclusivity in the social sector. Panelists Dr. Ryan Nyotu (Health Innovation and Digital Health Transformation Expert), Gilles Quentin Hacheme (Applied Research Scientist II, at Microsoft AI for Good Research Lab), Jay Patel (Director of Technology at Jacaranda Health), and Poornima Ramesh (IDinsight Data Scientist) analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of AI, highlighting the examples from the actual applications and clientele.

Partner testimonials were delivered by Joel K. Bett, the Programme Coordinator, Public Finance Management Reforms Secretariat (PFMRS) at the National Treasury, and Carilus Okoth, Manager of the M&E Department at the Women Enterprise Fund.

IDinsight expresses our deep thanks to our teammates, partners, and other stakeholders for making this event possible.