Igniting the African Growth Story: Harnessing Data, AI, and ML to Empower Industries, Markets, and Lives.

As an Intrepreneur/Entrepreneur, I am fuelled by a burning passion for propelling business growth through effective processes and structures. However, my vision extends far beyond that. I firmly believe that the power of Data Insights, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning will serve as the catalysts propelling Africa into a realm of double-figure growth in sectors such as Agriculture, Financial Inclusion, Insurance Penetration, and more.

Forever a Mentee and student of life, I have amassed 9 years of invaluable experience as a dedicated and detail-oriented Project Lead/Owner. My journey has taken me through diverse environments, honing my skills in monitoring, maintaining, and surpassing client satisfaction goals and growth objectives through data-driven teams.

I hold a special interest in capturing the millennial market and leveraging Modelling Artificial Intelligence systems to unlock exponential growth opportunities in the African Market. To complement my expertise, I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Actuarial Science at the esteemed University of Nairobi.

Beyond my educational background and industry experience, I have founded two successful startups that showcase my commitment to driving technological advancements and intrinsic value in the world:

1. BimaSmart: An Insurance Evaluation platform revolutionizing risk assessment and pricing of micro-insurance. I successfully sold the concept to https://jetsure-agritech.com/ in 2016-2017.

2. Tose Technologies LTD: A groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning think tank focused on implementing AI in Agriculture Value Chains to mitigate risk associated with financial instruments. Though currently at the ideation stage, we are poised to embark on a proof of concept journey in October 2022.

Igniting the African Growth Story: Harnessing Data, AI, and ML to Empower Industries, Markets, and Lives. As an Intrepreneur/Entrepreneur, I am fuelled by a burning passion for propelling business growth through effective processes and structures.... Show more

Joy Apple is a Microsoft MVP and Director of Partner and Customer Success at Orchestry.
As a seasoned information technologist, Joy strives to ensure technology is implemented with a purpose-driven, “human-first” approach. Teaching is one of her passions, and Joy finds personal and professional fulfillment volunteering in the Microsoft Community, speaking and educating others on best practices for success with Microsoft 365.
During her time as a SharePoint/Microsoft 365 consultant and trainer Joy has had the opportunity to work across industries, including government and our armed services.
When Joy isn’t working with the Orchestry team or speaking or writing as the “Joy of SharePoint,” she can probably be found at a music venue or the newest fun spot in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Joy Apple is a Microsoft MVP and Director of Partner and Customer Success at Orchestry. As a seasoned information technologist, Joy strives to ensure technology is implemented with a purpose-driven, “human-first” approach. Teaching is one of her pa... Show more

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only secure and reliable but also improve the day-to-day work experience. Her expertise lies in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Copilot. In her sessions, she combines deep technical knowledge with practical examples to show how organizations can unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365.

Anja Schröder is a Microsoft MVP and Modern Workplace Architect at Skaylink. She designs and builds Microsoft 365 architectures and leads their technical implementation from initial concept to rollout. Her approach ensures that solutions are not only... Show more

Raised and trained as an IT Engineer, transitioned to a solution architect role. Azure MVP, passionate about building tech communities, "security built-in, not bolted on" and "everything as code" principles. You can find my professional bio at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pazdedav/ and my GitHub Profile page at https://github.com/pazdedav

Raised and trained as an IT Engineer, transitioned to a solution architect role. Azure MVP, passionate about building tech communities, "security built-in, not bolted on" and "everything as code" principles. You can find my professional bio at https:... Show more

I am a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and Prosci® certified, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform functional lead. My experience is in business applications, CRM operations and enterprise change. With a FTSE 100 client background in Financial Services, CRM and Marketing across Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce platforms, I manage global transformation and adoption programs with deep human impact. I am also a speaker in the Microsoft Community, advocating as a human evangelist about user-centered design and enabling governance.

I am a Microsoft Business Applications MVP and Prosci® certified, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform functional lead. My experience is in business applications, CRM operations and enterprise change. With a FTSE 100 client background in Financial Service... Show more

Statisticien public, agiliste militant, formateur en design-thinking et en leadership

Statisticien public, agiliste militant, formateur en design-thinking et en leadership Show more

Tobias Fenster started as a developer in the 1990s. Holding different positions including Head of Technical Consulting, Head of Development and CTO for multiple Microsoft partners during his career, he is now a Managing Director at 4PS Germany and Chief Engineer at Hilti. He is also a Microsoft Regional Director, holds dual Microsoft MVP awards for Business Applications and Azure and is a Docker Captain.

He is blogging on tobiasfenster.io, where he writes about Business Applications, Docker and Windows Containers, but also tooling like Azure DevOps, Visual Studio Code and infrastructure automation. His other focus is Azure, mainly around container environments and SQL.

Tobias Fenster started as a developer in the 1990s. Holding different positions including Head of Technical Consulting, Head of Development and CTO for multiple Microsoft partners during his career, he is now a Managing Director at 4PS Germany and Ch... Show more

Andrew is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Docker Captain who helps organise Data Ceili and EightKB.

He is interested in all things database/kubernetes/container related and shares his passion for these topics by speaking at events across the world.

Originally from Wales but now exploring Ireland.

You can find him on Bluesky @dbafromthecold.com and blogging at dbafromthecold.com

Andrew is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Docker Captain who helps organise Data Ceili and EightKB. He is interested in all things database/kubernetes/container related and shares his passion for these topics by speaking at events across the wor... Show more

Henning loves programming in high quality. He lives this passion as coder, coach, and consultant at WPS – Workplace Solutions. There he helps teams to structure their monoliths or to build new systems from the beginning with a sustainable architecture. Microservices or self-contained systems are often the result. Henning is author of “Domain Storytelling” (Addison-Wesley 2022), “Domain-Driven Transformation” (Addison-Wesley 2024) and the www.LeasingNinja.io.

Henning loves programming in high quality. He lives this passion as coder, coach, and consultant at WPS – Workplace Solutions. There he helps teams to structure their monoliths or to build new systems from the beginning with a sustainable architectur... Show more

I’m a Software Engineer and a Developer Advocate at Google in London. I build tools, demos, tutorials, and give talks to educate and help developers to be successful on Google Cloud.

I’m a Software Engineer and a Developer Advocate at Google in London. I build tools, demos, tutorials, and give talks to educate and help developers to be successful on Google Cloud. Show more

Dr. Florian Rappl is Solution Architect for IoT and distributed web applications at smapiot. His main interest lies in the creation of innovative architectures that scale in development and usage. He won several prizes for his work and is a Microsoft MVP in the area of development technologies. He regularly blogs and writes articles for popular magazines and websites in the web development space.

Dr. Florian Rappl is Solution Architect for IoT and distributed web applications at smapiot. His main interest lies in the creation of innovative architectures that scale in development and usage. He won several prizes for his work and is a Microsoft... Show more

Grishma Jena is a Data Scientist with the Product Excellence Office at IBM in San Francisco. As the only Data Scientist in the org, she supports 100+ user researchers and designers and uses data to understand user struggles and opportunities to enhance product experiences. She has received the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award (Major), one of the most prestigious company-wide awards, as recognition of her work.

She earned her Masters in Computer Science at University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests are in Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing. She has delivered 50+ talks and workshops across 10 countries including at PyCon US (largest Python conference in the world), QCon and LeadDev. She has also taught Python at the San Francisco Public Library and frequently guides school and university students.

Grishma is extremely passionate about encouraging, mentoring, and empowering people, especially women and students, in the world of technology. She has been recognized by the Python Software Foundation as a Fellow for her extraordinary efforts and impact upon Python, the community, and the broader Python ecosystem. She won the Silver Stevie Award for Changemaker of the Year (Gender) and was selected as one of Women Impact Tech honorees. She serves on the AI/ML Advisory Board for DevNetwork. She is also an ambassador for the Women in Data Science initiative, as well as a part of the leadership team for Society of Women Engineers - Golden Gate Section. In 2023, she was recognized by Women Who Code as one of 100 Technologists To Watch for her excellence, innovation, and leadership, and was also a finalist for Venture Beat's Women in AI mentorship award.

In her free time, she likes to write, cook, and explore new places.

Grishma Jena is a Data Scientist with the Product Excellence Office at IBM in San Francisco. As the only Data Scientist in the org, she supports 100+ user researchers and designers and uses data to understand user struggles and opportunities to enhan... Show more

I am a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) and Kubernetes enthusiast with extensive experience in ensuring complex systems' reliability, scalability, and performance. I specialize in deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters, optimizing infrastructure, and automating processes.

With a strong foundation in SRE principles and DevOps practices, I thrive in fast-paced environments and am committed to continuous learning and innovation. I am also an active contributor to the tech community, sharing my knowledge through talks and workshops.

I am a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) and Kubernetes enthusiast with extensive experience in ensuring complex systems' reliability, scalability, and performance. I specialize in deploying and managing Kubernetes clusters, optimizing infrastructure, ... Show more

Brendan O'Leary is a Developer Relations Engineer at Kilo Code (kilocode.ai), on a mission to help people leverage AI effectively in their workflows, and is an advisor to various startups. Having worked in software his entire career, Brendan has had the privilege of working with many customers. Previously at Prefect, GitLab and a board member of the CNCF – it is clear, every company is a software company. That means every company needs software and AI operational excellence. Outside of work, you'll find Brendan with 1 to 4 kids hanging off of him at any given time or occasionally finding a moment alone to build something in his workshop.

Brendan O'Leary is a Developer Relations Engineer at Kilo Code (kilocode.ai), on a mission to help people leverage AI effectively in their workflows, and is an advisor to various startups. Having worked in software his entire career, Brendan has had ... Show more

Solutions Architect & Frontend Lead at ENCAMINA
MVP Developer Technologies
User Experience Developer Expert.

Passionate about new technologies, highlighting Windows Platform, Xamarin, ASP.NET, Microsoft Azure and SharePoint. I contribute to the developer community writing articles in my personal blog at Geeks.ms and occasionally at CompartiMOSS.com about SharePoint. I am also one of the TenerifeDev leads, user group about .NET Tenerife, and WPSUG user group about Windows Platform

You can find me in Twitter with the user @ saintwukong

Solutions Architect & Frontend Lead at ENCAMINA MVP Developer Technologies User Experience Developer Expert. Passionate about new technologies, highlighting Windows Platform, Xamarin, ASP.NET, Microsoft Azure and SharePoint. I contribute to the... Show more

Uwe Ricken has been working with IT systems since the early 1990s, with a deep focus on Microsoft SQL Server starting from his work on Membership Software for the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany - later rolled out across five European countries. His passion for SQL Server took off in 2007 when he joined Deutsche Bank AG as a database administrator, gaining hands-on experience in high-performance, enterprise-scale environments.

With over three decades of experience in database development and operations, Uwe earned the prestigious "Microsoft Certified Master – SQL Server 2008", the highest technical certification at the time. In 2013, he was honored with his first "Microsoft MVP Award" for his contributions to the SQL Server community across Germany and Europe.

Since 2010, Uwe has been sharing his expertise through his blog https://sqlmaster.de, offering deep dives into SQL Server internals, performance tuning, and real-world troubleshooting.

A regular speaker at international conferences and user groups, Uwe’s sessions focus on Database Internals, Indexing Strategies and Advanced SQL Development - always with a practical, performance-driven mindset.

Uwe Ricken has been working with IT systems since the early 1990s, with a deep focus on Microsoft SQL Server starting from his work on Membership Software for the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany - later rolled out across five European countri... Show more

With a background in ops, Björn got stuck in the DevOps movement a long time ago. Working alongside both dev and ops gave him a good view in to all sides of the company, and today he spends his days helping with everything from communication, through infra as code, to CI/CD pipelines.
By night he Maintains a number of PowerShell modules at https://GitHub.com/bjompen, Writes blog posts at https://bjompen.com, Builds pipelines in Azure DevOps and GitHub, Tries to figure out how Azure works, solders and repairs old tech, and dreams of playing in a Norwegian black metal band.

With a background in ops, Björn got stuck in the DevOps movement a long time ago. Working alongside both dev and ops gave him a good view in to all sides of the company, and today he spends his days helping with everything from communication, through... Show more

I am a software engineer, focusing mostly on the Front-end, in a love-love relationship with Javascript. I worked professionally on all Big Three Frameworks (But secretly I love React the most, please don't tell my Vue-on-all-projects company)

I am forever trying to strike a balance between my desire to ship stunning UI and bringing fast and great value from a Product perspective but also trying to merge the cleanest, easily maintainable code I can possibly write.

I am a software engineer, focusing mostly on the Front-end, in a love-love relationship with Javascript. I worked professionally on all Big Three Frameworks (But secretly I love React the most, please don't tell my Vue-on-all-projects company) I a... Show more

Accompagnatrice agile & DevOps chez CGI, co-créatrice de TADx - Tours agile & DevOps eXperience, j'ai parcouru des kilomètres de lignes de développements, d'analyses fonctionnelles et d'architectures orientées données avant de revenir à mes premières amours : le travail d'équipe, dans un cadre motivant et bienveillant, autour de produits utiles et vivants.
C'est donc tout naturellement vers l'agilité et le DevOps que mes dernières missions se sont tournées. Depuis, je glane le meilleur pour alimenter les équipes que j'accompagne au quotidien : mindset DevOps et craftership, outils au service de la qualité et du déploiement, techniques de design thinking pour capter les vrais besoins et l'amélioration continue des produits et des équipes.

Accompagnatrice agile & DevOps chez CGI, co-créatrice de TADx - Tours agile & DevOps eXperience, j'ai parcouru des kilomètres de lignes de développements, d'analyses fonctionnelles et d'architectures orientées données avant de revenir à mes premières... Show more

Seasoned software engineer with experience that spans nearly a decade, with technical expertise in micro-frontend architecture and web performance. Enthusiastic public speaker with a passion for crafting exceptional web experiences. Business domain expertise in areas like EdTech, HealthTech and Digital Identity.

For the last couple of years in leadership roles, inspiring a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, collaboration and psychological safety within the organization. Leading with empathy, honesty and passion, empowering team with trust and autonomy.

Seasoned software engineer with experience that spans nearly a decade, with technical expertise in micro-frontend architecture and web performance. Enthusiastic public speaker with a passion for crafting exceptional web experiences. Business domain e... Show more

It's never easy to describe oneself, especially when one is interested in so many different topics and fields and I guess that says something about who I am afterall. I find it fun and entertaining to teach difficult subjects through exotic methods and stories and people seem to also have fun while I do so.

I believe in the union between science and human values (read fun) and I often work and participate in non-profit organization and projects which aim to bring culture and scientific knowledge.

It's never easy to describe oneself, especially when one is interested in so many different topics and fields and I guess that says something about who I am afterall. I find it fun and entertaining to teach difficult subjects through exotic methods a... Show more

All my career, I've been working in the data field. Initially, I started my data journey with Excel and later transitioned to Tableau and, after a few years, to Power BI, which I've used almost since its creation.
But that's not all — I've also been sharing my data love with others, teaching them how to use these awesome tools during trainings and conferences. While doing this, I was accepted into the Microsoft MVP program (year 2024).
I'm super passionate about data, and nothing makes me happier than passing on my knowledge to kindred spirits so that they can rock the data world, too!

All my career, I've been working in the data field. Initially, I started my data journey with Excel and later transitioned to Tableau and, after a few years, to Power BI, which I've used almost since its creation. But that's not all — I've also bee... Show more

I have been working on databases for 20 years and for over 10 years on business intelligence projects.
I'm a speaker for SQL Saturday and the Power Platform world Tour.
I am a teacher at DIAD and one of the administrators of Power BI User Group Italy

I have been working on databases for 20 years and for over 10 years on business intelligence projects. I'm a speaker for SQL Saturday and the Power Platform world Tour. I am a teacher at DIAD and one of the administrators of Power BI User Group Ita... Show more

Diana and her teammates build modern software systems for diverse clients. She has 20+ years experience engineering and architecting software systems for organizations including Stanford, The Gates Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Teach For All. She has also served as Principal Systems Architect for The Economist and The Wikimedia Foundation.

She wrote the O’Reilly book, Learning Systems Thinking: Essential Nonlinear Skills & Practices for Software Professionals. Her company, Mentrix, publishes courses and learning materials for aspiring nonlinear thinkers.

Diana lives in the Hudson Valley (New York, USA) with three dogs, one cat and nine chickens.

Diana and her teammates build modern software systems for diverse clients. She has 20+ years experience engineering and architecting software systems for organizations including Stanford, The Gates Foundation, Memorial Sloan Kettering and Teach For A... Show more

Martin is a Developer Advocate at Honeycomb, o11y enthusiast, and a delivery-focused Developer from the UK. With over 20 years experience in development in the .NET ecosystem, he’s worked with many companies on scaling up engineering teams and products. The past few years have been spent working on solving complex problems with some of the UK’s big names, including e-commerce retailers and credit lenders.

Martin is a Developer Advocate at Honeycomb, o11y enthusiast, and a delivery-focused Developer from the UK. With over 20 years experience in development in the .NET ecosystem, he’s worked with many companies on scaling up engineering teams and produc... Show more

Global CTO of the Microsoft Alliance at NTT DATA Corp. | Microsoft MVP Azure & AI Platform.
Passionate about new technologies, highlighting Netcore , Microsoft Azure, Xamarin, IA, Bots and ASP.NET. Passionate about team management. I contribute to the developers community writing articles in my personal blog and giving speeches in numerous events. I am also one of the Netcoreconf leads.

Global CTO of the Microsoft Alliance at NTT DATA Corp. | Microsoft MVP Azure & AI Platform. Passionate about new technologies, highlighting Netcore , Microsoft Azure, Xamarin, IA, Bots and ASP.NET. Passionate about team management. I contribute to ... Show more

Jernej Kavka (JK) is a Microsoft AI MVP, SSW Solution Architect, and organizer of several user groups like AI Hack Days and Global AI The Podcast. JK is a full-stack .NET developer, but his passion lies in Azure Cognitive Services, AI and machine learning. He is the main architect behind SSW's virtual receptionist - SophieAI: https://sswsophie.com

He is also very active in the developer community and enjoys speaking at conferences like NDC, DDD, as well as User Groups and Hack Days.

Jernej Kavka (JK) is a Microsoft AI MVP, SSW Solution Architect, and organizer of several user groups like AI Hack Days and Global AI The Podcast. JK is a full-stack .NET developer, but his passion lies in Azure Cognitive Services, AI and machine lea... Show more

Curious by nature, talkative geek who can speak in front of a public or a camera, in love with technology, especially Azure and SQL Server.
I want to understand how things work and to solve problems by myself during work as in my many hobbies.

Curious by nature, talkative geek who can speak in front of a public or a camera, in love with technology, especially Azure and SQL Server. I want to understand how things work and to solve problems by myself during work as in my many hobbies. Show more

Sierra is a Software Engineer at Clubhouse, based in Cincinnati, OH, USA, focused primarily on native Android. She loves building beautiful and accessible Android apps, sharing knowledge with the community, and mentoring aspiring mobile developers. She is a Google Developer Expert for Android and serves as a Director of Women Who Code Cincinnati, Director of Technology for getWITit (Women in Tech), Women Techmakers global Ambassador, and former global Leadership Fellow for Women Who Code Mobile.

Sierra is a Software Engineer at Clubhouse, based in Cincinnati, OH, USA, focused primarily on native Android. She loves building beautiful and accessible Android apps, sharing knowledge with the community, and mentoring aspiring mobile developers. S... Show more

Blogger, speaker, #sqlfamily member. Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Data passionate, Data Engineer and Architect.
Over 20 years of programming and experience with SQL Server databases (since 2000 version) he confirmed by certificates MCITP, MCP, MCTS, MCSA, MCSE Data Platform & Data management & analytics. He worked both as developer and administrator big databases designing systems from the scratch. Recently focused on Data Platform in Azure as a certified (Azure Dev-Ops Engineer Expert, Azure Developer Associate) Data Engineer and Azure Architect.
Passionate about optimization of database systems, an advocate of code transparency, open-source projects and automation, DevOps and PowerShell fan.

Since 2015 he has been living and working in the UK. Currently professionally associated with Avanade, an international consulting company.

Socially, tied with Data Community Poland (former PLSSUG) for many years, He worked a couple of years as a volunteer and now as a co-organizer and speaker of the biggest SQL Server conference in Poland (SQLDay).
Socially, tied with the Data Community Poland Association (former PLSSUG) and the SQLDay conference for many years; currently as a co-organizer of a five-day Data Relay conference in the UK, a volunteer at SQLBits and a presenter at these and many other conferences.

An originator of the "Ask SQL Family" podcast and founder of SQLPlayer blog.
Privately happy husband and father of two wonderful girls.

Blogger, speaker, #sqlfamily member. Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Data passionate, Data Engineer and Architect. Over 20 years of programming and experience with SQL Server databases (since 2000 version) he confirmed by certificates MCITP, MCP, MCT... Show more