AI Innovations by Moustapha Cissé Propelling African Development
Moustapha Cissé, a renowned AI researcher from Senegal, is making waves in the technology world by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle critical healthcare and agricultural challenges in Africa. His latest venture, Kera Health, a digital health platform co-founded in Senegal, aims to improve care coordination, mitigate the shortage of healthcare professionals, and enhance the efficiency and safety of the medical system in Senegal.
Cissé's work with Kera Health focuses on AI-powered solutions that integrate digital health data, facilitate diagnostics, and support clinical decision-making to enable faster and more accurate diagnoses. The platform centralizes health data such as medical records, lab results, prescriptions, and insurance information within a secure interface accessible to authorized healthcare providers.
Before founding Kera Health, Cissé led Google's AI Center in Accra, Ghana, fostering it into a hub for African innovation. During his tenure at Google, he dedicated significant efforts to ensuring AI technologies are tailored to African contexts, addressing unique local issues like insufficient healthcare resources and boosting agricultural productivity.
Cissé's work extends beyond technological innovation. He consistently advocates for eradicating sociocultural and economic biases in AI technology and champions governance structures that reconcile innovation with privacy concerns. He recognizes that AI alone will not resolve Africa's challenges and advocates for robust data regulations, enhanced infrastructure, and expanded educational opportunities.
Cissé's impact is already measurable. Kera Health successfully raised $10 million in funding as of June 2025 to improve digital infrastructure, expand services across Senegal, and prepare for regional scaling. This reflects growing confidence in AI-driven healthtech as a vital tool for addressing Africa’s demographic and healthcare challenges.
In addition to his work with Kera Health, Cissé holds a professorship and is the founder and director of the African Masters of Machine Intelligence program at the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). His initiatives and work have positioned Africa prominently within the international artificial intelligence arena.
Cissé is a pioneering AI researcher with a Ph.D. in machine learning from a distinguished French academic institution. His work exemplifies how AI can be harnessed responsibly and effectively to meet Africa’s unique healthcare and agricultural needs, fostering technological progress aligned with local realities and ethical considerations.
Cissé's AI-powered solutions within Kera Health integrate digital health data, facilitating diagnostics and supporting clinical decision-making, all aimed at enabling faster and more accurate diagnoses. His advocacy for eradicating sociocultural and economic biases in AI technology highlights his dedication to ensuring that AI technologies are tailored to African contexts, addressing unique local issues like insufficient healthcare resources and boosting agricultural productivity.
