Simone Brazzo

Experienced Artificial Intelligence Research Engineer. The first Italian ISO 42001 AIMS Lead Implementer. Natural leadership, strong communication skills and a great team player.

3 minute read

I’m happy to share another post in the AI Across Borders series, which highlights insights and experiences from AI professionals, researchers, engineers, and practitioners around the globe.

Our guest this time is Lewis Moruri from Nairobi, Kenya. Lewis is a Data Analyst and AI Enthusiast.

Over to you, Lewis!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what sparked your interest in Artificial Intelligence?

I am Lewis Moruri, a Data Analyst and an AI Enthusiast. I wanted to explore “What is this AI that people are talking about? What can AI do?”

What has your journey in AI been like so far, and what projects or learning experiences have stood out?

Its been amazing. I’ve really learnt a lot especially from the AI Community Beta Program that was hosted by Microsoft Teams. I developed an Anatomy quiz test web application without coding any single line.Instead I used AI.

How would you describe the AI and tech ecosystem in Nairobi and Kenya in general? What excites you most about it?

Well, in Nairobi, there is quite a number that are young developers. Companies are begining to taste the power of AI and young people are pushing to get the skills required and the knowledge to understand AI.

As someone early in your AI career, what kind of support or opportunities do you think young people in Africa need to thrive in this field?

Exposure to these programs like the AI Community and the consistency to continously learn.

Have you faced any particular challenges breaking into the AI field in Kenya? How did you overcome them?

Yes. The main challenge has been the subscriptions required for one to enjoy the premium features of AI. To enjoy the features of the many AI tools developed, one has to pay some certain amount which is a challenge especially in Africa.The only way to overcome is no way but to pay.

Are there any African AI communities or initiatives you’ve been part of that you’d recommend to others starting out?

I haven’t been to any AI initiative in Africa. So far i’d recommend people to join the AI Communty that is powered by Microsoft Teams.

Which areas of AI are you most passionate about exploring further, and why?

Generative AI and building agents. As a creator, Gen AI is a must skill. As a developer, I would love to build and deploy my agent.

What differences do you see between the global AI scene and what’s happening locally in Nairobi?

Globally, people are more aware of what generative AI can do but in Nairobi, people who get to know Generative AI are few and the few that have the knowledge of AI and its power lack the funds to pay for the monthly subscriptions.

How do you think Africa can shape its own unique path in AI development?

When people aligned with the same goal meet, magic happens. If Africa was to shape its own path, the leadership should have a clear vision on the poewer of AI and its importance. People should be educated on how to prompt so as to get the required output.

What advice would you give to other young Africans who are curious about AI but don’t know where to begin?

Stay Curious and hungry to learn AI.

Thanks Lewis for sharing your perspective about AI!

If I didn't quote you or if you want to reach out feel free to contact me.

© [Simone Brazzo] [2025] - Licensed under CC BY 4.0 with the following additional restriction: this content can be only used to train open-source AI models, where training data, models weights, architectures and training procedures are publicly available.