JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA 17th March – South African AI Association (SAAIA) SAAIA operated on a funded basis for the first time from 1st March 2024 to 28th February 2025. This was achieved via the amazing sponsorship from Google, Huawei and other vendors who contributed to the first tranche of funding we have ever had. It should be noted, all activity undertaken by SAAIA Advisory Board and its members is on a voluntary / no-salary basis, therefore all SAAIA funding is directed towards covering the cost of outreach activities so we aim to maximise the impact and benefit to the SAAIA vision & mission of the members and wider South Africa.
2024 is best characterised as a year of building and experimentation. Our membership hit 2800+ members by Feb 2025, we secured CPD certified status and rolled out 8x 200 seat AI skills workshops to 1000+ delegates at AI Expo Africa 2024 which was a big successes! We also made our first submission to the Information Regulator on the LinkedIn AI model training issue and ran our largest AI Expo Africa event to date with some 2300+ delegates in attendance. Our free Responsible AI learning pathway is live on the website and our 2024 editions of Synapse Magazine have been the largest thus far published.
We have also been assessing how best to manage the association, our partnerships and day to day administration, while also focusing on how we make impact in the provinces. We have also been active at various tech events, be that exhibiting, networking, recruiting or attending as speakers, panellists or invited guests. On reflection we have been as busy as we can be given our current stage of growth and funding constraints and this is something we want to build upon as we enter our 3rd year of operation commencing 1st March 2025.
We are highly grateful for the time committed to SAAIA by everyone in the Advisory Board / ExCo, Provincial Ambassadors, Ambassadors, members & volunteers. Without your support, help and ideas we would not have got this far. Listed below are just some of the engagements and activity we have undertaken in what was a very busy year.
Dr Nick Bradshaw, the founder of SAAIA, stated: “2024 was our first full year operating under 3rd party funding and sponsorship and that has helped us do so much more than we did in 2023. We are entering our 3rd year carrying a lot of momentum from 2024 which was a phenomenal year for AI globally and globally. This generational technology shift shows no signs of abating and we have some exciting new developments to announce this coming year – so watch this space – and remember – joining SAAIA is FREE!”
SAAIA Exhibition, Speaking & Panel Discussion Engagements
- National AI Government Summit: National AI Plan Dialogue & Launch, Johannesburg
- Deep Learning IndabaX, Johannesburg
- Pan African Data Centres Exhibition & Conference, Sandton
- SMMEs Go Digital Expo, Pretoria
- Book Launch: African AI by Mark Nasila, Johannesburg
- Youth Tech Expo, Tembisa
- Launch of Defence AIISA Hub, Saldanha
- GC REAIM – Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military, Stellenbosch
- AI Expo Africa SAAIA Pavilion & hosted 10x AI SMMEs, Johannesburg
- Unique Summit, Cape Town
- Partnered with DCDT to host the AIISA Hub at AI Expo Africa, Sandton
- AI Everything Dubai – Setting up an AI trade and innovation hub UAE <> SA
- Panel Speakers at Paris AI Action Summit & attended the African AI Village Side event
- Station F – Setting up an AI trade and innovation hub France <> SA
Hosted Visits & Key Meetings
- UN ITU AI4Good Impact Africa Planning Meeting, Cape Town
- SCSP Washington AI Group with US Trade & USAID, Johannesburg
- Cirrus AI Compute Investment Meeting & Data Centre Visit, Johannesburg
- SAAIA Annual ExCo Meeting & Dinner, Johannesburg
- Activate AI 2026 planning meeting CTICC, Cape Town
- National AI Trade Mission to Dubai Planning Meeting with DTIC, Cape Town
- Quarterly ExCo Meetings (Online)
- ARM SA Chapter Meeting (side event at AI Expo Africa), Sandton
- UN ITU Innovation Factory Africa Pitch (side event at AI Expo Africa), Sandton
- UN DP & AI Hub for Development Launch (side event at AI Expo Africa), Sandton
SAAIA Regulatory, Policy & Strategy Engagements
- Submission to SA Info Regulator refs the LinkedIn AI Model Training issue
- National AI Strategy Working Group Meetings (various meetings online)
- Requested SAAIA members comment on DCDP AI Policy Framework
SAAIA attended as delegates for networking & recruitment
- Meetings Africa, Johannesburg
- British Chamber of Business in SA :UK-SA Political, Trade & Investment, Sandton
- AfricanTechno: Leaps & Bounds, We are VR Jozi, Johannesburg
- French Embassy: South Africa ‘s Economic Outlook for 2024, Sandton
- Microsoft Envision AI Connection, Johannesburg
- Microsoft AI Road Show, Cape Town
- Swiss Embassy: The Hitchhiker’s guide to AI, Pretoria
- TUT 20th Annivesary Lecture, Pretoria
- Inaugural Absa Commercial Payments Summit 2024, Sandton
- Elastic Day South Africa, Sandton
- AfricArena, Johannesburg
- Africa Tech Fest, Cape Town
- Startup Club ZA: Startup Showcase, Johannesburg
- Wits FinTech Hub Launch, Johannesburg
- Blue Pearl Cloud Carnival, Johannesburg
- Swiss Embassy: Blockchain Cocktail Dinner, Pretoria
- Launch of Intel AI career Tech centre at TUT, Pretoria
- African Smart Cities Summit, Midrand
- Salesforce Event: World Tour Essentials, Johannesburg
- SecurEx South Africa, Midrand
- SAITEX, Sandton
- Huawei Africa Connect, Sandton
- Google: AI in Action, Cape Town & Johannesburg
- AI ZA meetup: Entelect, Johannesburg
- LSD: AWS Container Day, Johannesburg
- The LLama Community Meetup, Johannesburg
- Veeam Unplugged 2024, Johannesburg
- DataCentrix Showcase, Johannesburg
- AWS Summit, Johannesburg
- The Business Show, Johannesburg
- OpenText Summit South Africa, Midrand
- LeaderEx 2024, Sandton
- Qlik: The AI Reality Tour, Johannesburg
- SMA Summit – Smarter Mobility Africa Summit, Johannesburg
- Lelapa AI: The future is Today, Johannesburg
- Conext Connect Conference 2024, Sandton
- AUDA-NEPAD Youth in Innovation Symposium, Pretoria
- Science Forum South Africa, Pretoria
- AWS AI Insuretech 2024, Cape Town
- Austrian Embassy BOLD Community Networking Event, Cape Town
- CTICC Staff briefing on Responsible AI in the events and venue industry
SAAIA Operational Activity Summary 2024
- The association became CPD Certified to issue CPD credits this year
- This allowed us to issue credit certificates to 800+ practitioners
- Memberships hit 2500+ members by November 2024
- Reduced the size of the Advisory Board to focus / include provincial activity
- This will also provide scope for wider industry participation via Platinum Sponsorship
- We are refining the paid for membership tiers for 2025.
- Set-up the SAAIA Provincial Ambassador Network (FS, WC, EC recruitment completed)
- Refined the Advisory Board / ExCo / WhatsApp & Ambassador codes of conduct
- Added an ExCo Diplomacy Lead to handle embassy and consular engagements
- Set up WhatsApp community group to trial its use / pros & cons
- Assessing the Nas.io vs Mighty Networks portals for enhanced community management
- Made the Synapse Magazine the official publication of SAAIA
- Made AI Expo Africa the official annual summit & conference of SAAIA
- The State of AI in Africa Report 2nd Edition will be a SAAIA publication
- Produced more recruitment flyers and 1x exhibitor banner (large) & 2x pull up banners
- Procured SAAIA polo shirts / pens / bucket hats for provincial recruitment events
- Renewed Crunchbase subscription for research purposes
- Renewed hosting / SSL / domain registration
About The South African AI Association
The South African Artificial Intelligence Association (SAAIA) is a platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among AI professionals and enthusiasts in South Africa. The South African AI Association promotes the adoption of Responsible AI and provides FREE training resources, insights and news about the emerging AI opportunity locally, regionally and globally. Our annual conference, AI Expo Africa 2025 is the largest gathering of AI practitioners in Africa and the topic of privacy, regulation and responsible AI will be foremost at the show. Join us on 29-31 October at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg to network, explore our work and that of our wider community. This year we are hosting the 1st UN ITU AI4Good Impact Africa Summit and the entire gathering is designated an official G20 side event.
Learn more and sign up today at https://saaiassociation.co.za/
For press & media enquiries contact enquiries@aimediagroup.co.za