Ghanaian startup, Aya Data, has raised $900,000 in a seed funding round, bringing its total funding to $1.15 million. The Accra-based company, founded in 2021 by Freddie Monk and Ama Larbi-Siaw, is at the forefront of AI development in Africa, specializing in data collection and annotation crucial for training large language models.
Aya Data’s innovative approach goes beyond mere data processing. The company is actively upskilling its workforce, transforming data annotators into skilled data engineers and scientists. This initiative not only creates high-value jobs but also builds a robust AI ecosystem in Ghana.
“Our mission is to build local expertise that can harness AI to address Africa’s most urgent challenges,” said Ama Larbi-Siaw, co-founder and COO of Aya Data.
The startup’s flagship products, AyaGrow and AyaSpeech, showcase its commitment to addressing local challenges. AyaGrow employs AI for precision agriculture, supporting both commercial and smallholder farmers, while AyaSpeech facilitates interactions in local African languages, bridging communication gaps across the continent.
With clients ranging from MIT to Unilever, Aya Data is rapidly gaining traction in the global AI market. The company’s revenue reached an impressive $500,000 in 2023, serving about 20 active clients.
“The majority of our work has been with global clients, but we are increasingly focused on helping African businesses leverage AI to increase their competitiveness. […] Ultimately we are working to enable as many businesses and people to benefit from AI as quickly as possible, and to ensure that the ability to build this technology to a world class standard exists in Ghana and other similar markets,” Gillian Hammah, Marketing and Strategy officer at Aya Data, said.
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The recent funding, led by 54Collective, will fuel Aya Data’s ambitious plans to train 1,000 data professionals and further develop its in-house products. This expansion aims to position Ghana as a hub for world-class AI technology, potentially transforming the economic landscape of the region.