Background
The Alliance of Entrepreneurial Universities in Africa (AEUA) proudly announces its fourth annual flagship conference from 7-10 of October 2025 at the University of South Africa (UNISA) Pretoria Campus, Pretoria, South Africa. The Forum is co-organized by United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) and is hosted by University of South Africa. The Forum of the Alliance will be held in a hybrid format to maximize continental reach and collaboration that bridges geographical divides, connecting innovators, investors, policymakers, and researchers across Africa and beyond.
Why Artificial Intelligence for Entrepreneurship?
Africa is a young and extremely entrepreneurial driven content, partly due to low level of formal employment and a fast growing young population in a world whose labour market is undergoing profound changes. Artificial intelligence (AI) presents many opportunities for both institutions, firms and individuals to run their business affairs in a smart and data informed decision making. There are numerous AI tools that businesses already use in the design of innovative products and business models. For instance, one can use AI to recommend cost-effective and energy efficient solar energy storage solutions; ingredients for a given recipe, texture of a textile or medical device etc. The innovators can test the few recommendations to quickly arrive at a desired product.
This challenge call is primarily looking for innovators and researchers that are embracing AI in design of entrepreneurship promotion, support and management tools (e.g. in business ideation, planning, viability assessment, efficiency and financial management etc). These may be tools you are designing or wish to design to support young people develop their own businesses, informal firms, public institutions, incubators, innovation hubs and tech centres or to large sectors such as health, education, finance, energy etc.