The Rockefeller Foundation, in collaboration with the Universities of Massachusetts and the Colorado School of Mines, launched the e-GUIDE in 2018 to use data science to predict electricity demand in energy-poor emerging economies

The Rockefeller Foundation AI analysis of human settlement activity in Nairobi

2021 early release from collaboration examining AI analysis of human settlement activity in Nairobi. (Credit: PRNewswire/ The Rockefeller Foundation)

US-based Rockefeller Foundation has announced its new $5.5m partnership with e-GUIDE and Atlas AI to promote climate resilient infrastructure investment and speed up economic development throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Rockefeller Foundation, which is a private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organisation, aims to leverage satellite data and machine learning technologies to create a digital platform.

The digital platform builds on new research and freely accessible data sets addressing the intersection of agricultural, energy, and transportation sector development conditions.

Through the platform, the three-year collaboration is said to provide unmatched insight into the well-being of communities.

The platform will give policymakers extensive cross-sectorial insight into how the new infrastructure development can reduce community vulnerabilities and foster economic opportunities.

It is said to initially cover Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda.

The Rockefeller Foundation, in collaboration with the Universities of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon, and the Colorado School of Mines, launched the Electricity Growth and Use In Developing Economies Initiative (e-GUIDE) in 2018.

e-GUIDE is a project to use data science to predict electricity demand in energy-poor emerging economies.

The Rockefeller Foundation senior vice president of innovation Zia Khan said: “While data science has been used to improve individual development projects, we haven’t yet unlocked its potential to improve development at a systems level — which is critical, because efforts to drive change in energy, agriculture, and transportation must be integrated in order to make opportunity universal and sustainable.”

Atlas AI, a Silicon Valley-based public benefit technology start-up, is said to track changes in societal and economic wellbeing using data from a variety of planetary sensors and deep learning AI technologies.

It has extensive experience creating hyperlocal socioeconomic datasets, predictive analytics models, and software platforms to aid in the complex decision-making processes involved in investment and policy.

Atlas AI CEO Abe Tarapani, CEO said: “Real-world investment decisions don’t fit as neatly into one of those buckets, and we are thrilled to be part of this pioneering consortium to unlock a more dynamic and practical understanding of how constrained resources can best promote livelihood improvements in local communities.”