Machines can be our friends too

There is so much happening in the realm of technological-advancements in the world that we can easily miss the opportunities, right now, where we can participate in this progression. And what’s even more reassuring, is we don’t need to do it alone!

Technology can be a huge enabler. If done right. And to do it right is to make sure it effectively solves a real need and challenge in the organisation. One such challenge we have is in our data-cleaning process, where errors (due to humans) sneak into our datasets and another human (normally one of our team members or an Eco Visitor) has to painstakingly comb through the spreadsheets and manually identify and correct these errors. Not exactly the most fun activity, nor best use of our most valuable and scarce resources i.e. team members time.

Fortunately we have friends who can help. I would like to introduce you to one of them. Meet Zindi.

Zindi is a community of data scientists solving Africa’s toughest challenges – you can see how they work here. The great thing about Zindi, is she’s incredibly popular and when she’s invited to a problem-solving-party she brings along hundreds of amazing, incredibly smart friends from across the continent too. A good friend to have indeed!

This allows us to convert our challenges into moments of celebration as we collectively solve them and help propel us into a positive future.

We have some incredibly exciting plans ahead with Zindi, first of which is our campaign –  made possible by the support of Temple Point Resort – where we hope to  create a machine learning model to help Local Ocean Conservation identify potential errors and anomalies in our database of sea turtle rescues from our By-Catch Release Programme (BCRP). This will allow us to replace an inefficient, manual process with an automated one. Working with machines to further enable LOC and our important conservation efforts!

You can learn more and participate in the campaign here.

About Zindi

Zindi is a social enterprise whose mission is to build the data science ecosystem in Africa. Their vision is for a vibrant community of data scientists across Africa, mobilised towards solving the region’s most pressing problems.

They are a team of data scientists and creators based in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Accra committed to a better Africa.

Learn more about Zindi here and you can send them some love and support below:

Twitter: @ZindiAfrica

Facebook: @Zindi.Africa

About Temple Point Resort

The Temple Point Resort is a premier holiday beach resort located at the end of a headland between the Indian Ocean and Mida Creek. Surrounded by tropical gardens and the Mida Creek lagoon, the hotel is situated right inside the Watamu Marine National Park. Conveying the atmosphere of a delightful private home with luxurious accommodation, the resort standards are designed to provide the highest quality venue for both individual holiday makers and corporate functions.

Learn more about Temple Point Resort here and you can send them some love and support below:

Twitter: Temple_Point

Facebook: TemplePointResort