For a Human-Centered AI

Running an Open Innovation Platform for IoT-Big Data in Sub-Saharan Africa

May 14, 2018

Empowering Digital Transformation of Africa by WAZIUP and WAZIHUB initiative - a project coordinated by Open IoT research unit of CREATE-NET center at FBK

WAZIUP is a European Union-Africa project developing IoT technologies in Africa.

Funded by the EU H2020 R&I Programme (H2020-ICT-2015), Grant Agreement H2020-ICT-687607.

The project is coordinated by Open IoT research unit of CREATE-NET center at FBK.

“Wazi” is a Swahili word for “open”: WAZI-UP opens-up new IoT technologies for African countries. It develops cutting edge IoT, cost-effective communications and big data technologies for the needs of the developing countries.


Successful short training course on rapid protototyping in Rwanda in partnership with ACEIoT (African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things).


WAZIUP organized a short course on IoT rapid application prototyping course in Rwanda in cooperation with ACEIoT. The opening ceremony was led by ICT ministry of Rwanda and there were presentations from the important actors like SmartAfrica initiative, Smart City Innovation, Rwanda Development Board and other international donors. The whole event was highly successful. The short course was held from April 23rd to 27th, 2018.

It was a 5 days training course where 40 students coming from 5 different countries in Africa with mixed background were asked to form  groups and to come up with  ideas of social problems that could be solved by IoT.

Students were asked to develop a prototype based on WAZIUP technologies and  after 3 days they were able develop 9 IoT  initial prototype and give a pitch of their social innovation. Certificates were awarded to students who succesfully completed the course.


WAZIHUB– Kick-off (Uganda): a project to create Open IoT business Ecosystem in Africa

On Friday 4th May, WAZIHUB, an Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation program was launched in Kampala, Uganda, as a collaborative problem solving and innovative approach to foster creation of IoT products and services.

The WAZIHUB Accelerator program provide IoT startups and entrepreneurs with technical and business capacity building through training bootcamps, seminars, growth hacking resources and workshops.

WAZIHUB offers specific support to startups who complete our accelerator program to adapt IoT-Big data open source platform towards iniital market replication. We also suppport the next generation IoT high-tech SMEs in Africa.


WAZIUP IoT club in Cotonou, Benin Republic will celebrate on May 12th, the International Arduino Day.

There will be a free initiation to the creation of a connected object with arduino at 9 am GMT at Blolab, Benin.


WAZIUP is funded by the EU H2020 R&I Programme (H2020-ICT-2015), Grant Agreement H2020-ICT-687607.

The project is coordinated by Open IoT research unit of CREATE-NET center at FBK.

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