About Us

Organization Overview

Summary of the Organization:

Port Harcourt School of AI (or now “AI Community Africa ”) is a remote-first, non-profit organization with the cause of connecting interested individuals to quality data science and AI education and opportunities while making the knowledge and use of the technology accessible to underrepresented groups across Africa.

History:

Officially launched on 25th August 2018, Port Harcourt School of AI has since then been the most active AI community in Port Harcourt and arguably in the entire Southern and Eastern parts of Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt School of AI (or PHC SoAI) is a local chapter under the “School of AI”, a former nonprofit based in California US, whose primary objective was to decentralize world-class AI education, making it accessible to anyone willing to learn on earth, and have taught over 13,000 learners AI technology around the world.

Ownership and Legal Structure:

The Port Harcourt School of AI was founded by Stephen Oladele under the School of AI’s administration in 2018. With the new independent structure and rebranding, the organization will be a registered non-profit organization mostly looking to be sustainable both through internal programs and a lean management team, and external enabling platforms and resources.

The Board:

AI Community Africa currently has five (5) board members running the affairs of the organization. Our director is Stephen Oladele who is a machine learning engineer, he has been a speaker at numerous AI conferences and seminars, he is also a proficient technical writer.

Management Team and Background

Core Team

Location:

Port Harcourt School of AI is a remote-first, non-profit organization that gives members the full leverage to apply for hosting meetups in their cities or local center’s.

Organization Past Reports

2019.

2020.

Value Proposition

What value do we deliver to our members?

• Quality data science education,
• Curated and relevant data science opportunities,
• Community built on collaboration and accessibility,
• Making the knowledge and use of data science and AI technologies accessible to groups that otherwise consider it abstract.

Why do our members come to us?

• Because they want access to quality data science education without paying a premium to get it.
• Because they want access to curated and relevant data science opportunities all in one spot.
• Because they want to know what technology can do and learn how to use technology to solve problems.

Beliefs and Values

• Collaboration: We believe collaboration is the way to build a community where everyone thrives where members enjoy connecting, wishing each other the very best and are eager to see other members succeed in the community.
• Fairness: We believe everyone should have access to data science and artificial intelligence education, opportunities, and technology regardless of their current situation.
• Quality: We believe in making the platform for success in data science and artificial intelligence accessible to our members so they can drive themselves to greatness.
• Accessibility: We believe quality data science and artificial intelligence education, opportunities, and resources must be made accessible by all parties involved with AI Community Africa; from members to volunteers, to staff, executives and the board of advisors.
• Resourcefulness: We want to build an organization that does not just provide quality resources, but also have members that have the resources in skills and knowledge to give back to society solving problems and make their skills accessible.

Brand Personality: If Our Brand Was a Person

If the AI Community Africa was a person, she would be;

• Collaborative: always seeking ways to work with others and is willing to listen to the suggestions of others, 
• Resourceful: Has the latest and most up-to-date information on-hand that she can hand over to anyone interested in it and has connections that can change lives if taken advantage of,
•  Friendly, and accessible to everyone who claims to need her help and those she identifies that needs her help.

Product/Service Benefits & Emotional Impact

We want people to connect with our cause; quality data science and artificial intelligence education should be accessible, and people should not have to pay a premium to access such resources.

Under-representation is not just gender-based; it is also role-based, environment-based, disability-based, and condition-based. Making this field accessible to these groups is also key to our success.

Target Audience

Primary Target Audience: Gen-Zs and millennials interested in quality data science and artificial intelligence education and opportunities across Africa.

Secondary Target Audience: Underrepresented groups in data science and artificial intelligence across Africa;

• Gen-Zs and millennials in other domains don’t just “get” what data science is and how it is useful to them, 
• Gen-Zs and millennials with disabilities such as hearing impairments and visual impairments, gender underrepresentation,
• People without access to the internet.

Sub-Groups and Related Groups

AI Festival Nigeria (sub-group),

TensorFlow User group Port Harcourt (related group)

Partnerships

The Gradient Boost (Concluded).

Google Crowdsource (In Progress).

Data-Camp (in Progress).

Klas (In Progress).

Data Umbrella (in view).

Coursera (Concluded).