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Data Science Africa Llama Impact Africa Grant Program - Call for Proposals

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Large language models have a great potential for impact in different areas including health, science and agriculture. Data Science Africa with support from Meta aims to support African based start-ups, research laboratories and researchers currently working on applications leveraging Llama, the open large language model from Meta AI, to solve problems relevant in the African context with a focus on applications that contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals.

In particular we seek to support three categories of applicants namely:

  1. African based startups with a product currently available to users
  2. African based Academic or Industrial laboratories with a use case or proof-of-concept and requiring support to develop a product
  3. Researchers and Innovators based in Africa with ideas for potential applications.

Funding levels will vary depending on category as explained below.

Eligibility

Start-Up Category

  1. A majority of the founder team should be citizens of an African country
  2. The product to be supported must leverage Llama
  3. The product must solve a problem linked to achievement of the sustainable development goals
  4. The start-up should have a clear sustainability plan
  5. The start-up should have clear data management, privacy, and ethics policies

Academic or Industrial Laboratories

  1. The laboratory must be located in Africa
  2. Academic labs must be affiliated to African universities
  3. The use case to be supported must leverage Llama and have a clear path to impact
  4. The team should have expertise in AI and large language models
  5. The lab should have a clear data management plan, privacy policy, and ethical approval to conduct the project

Researchers and Innovators

  1. The researcher and innovator must be based in Africa
  2. Demonstrate expertise in AI and use of large language models
  3. The use case to be supported must leverage Llama and have a clear path to impact
  4. The researcher or innovator should demonstrate the ability to conduct the project in an ethical manner and have a clear data management plan and privacy policy.

Evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated by an expert panel of reviewers with a focus on:

  1. Clear description of an application with a compelling use case
  2. Clear path to impact and large potential user base for the solution
  3. Team composition and expertise
  4. Ethical product development
  5. Realistic budget and timeline
  6. Responses to the due diligence questionnaire

Budget

Projects will be funded in the range USD 10,000 to USD 20,000. Your budget must be realistic and the scope of work should be achievable with the resources requested.

Application

Interested applicants should fill the application form by 10th January 2025. The form has the following categories.

  1. Category [Startup - Laboratory - Researcher/Innovator]
  2. Use-case or Product Description (200 words)
  3. Path to impact (200 words)
    1. anticipated benefit from product adoption
    2. User base size and geographical reach
  4. Technology description (400 words)
    1. Data and Model description
    2. Deployment considerations
  5. Data management, privacy and ethics (400 words)
  6. Budget

Applicants should also familiarise themselves with the due diligence questionnaire in order to be in a position to promptly submit a response to the questionnaire should your project be selected.

Key Dates

06th December 2024 – Call for proposals open

10th January 2025 – Proposal submission deadline