Rose Delilah Gesicho is an African AI community leader and champion for data science education
“It’s clear to see from other successful women in data science that you can come from Africa and create a huge impact while giving back to your community by sharing your story.”
Rose Delilah Gesicho is country ambassador for Zindi in Kenya, and she says she draws inspiration from a number of successful female data scientists in her network.
“Beyond the Zindi community, I look up to and follow notable women I have met through various volunteer and community roles, such as being a Program Coordinator for Nairobi Women in Machine Learning and Data Science (WiMLDS) and Learning Programme Manager at Alliance4ai,” she explains. “One story in particular that inspired me is from Tobe M, (Omozara on Instagram) — she is a good example that we can achieve anything we set our mind to despite the challenges ahead of us. She moved from Nigeria to the USA where she had little to no money and now works at a prestigious company in Silicon Valley as a data scientist.”
Finding her passion
Being able to solve problems is what drew her towards data science, but she has stayed for the chance to help others find their own excitement for the field.
“I am very passionate about helping people find their own passion in data science.”
Her first encounter with data science was at a WiMLDS event in Kenya, where she learned about automation and Artificial Intelligence. From there she attended a Deep Learning Indaba event, where she was inspired by the amazing projects she saw.
“From there the world of data called to me, and I decided to join the Moringa School data science program which runs for six months,” Rose says. “One of the most exciting projects I worked on at Moringa was for the Hacker News platform. My team and I developed a model that predicts how popular a story will be from the title.”
After working in the field finding her passion for mentorship, She joined Moringa School as a Data Science Technical Mentor, where she helps prepare individuals for the future of work. She is also the Learning Program Manager at Alliance4ai, where she helps the African youth in AI find their voice and become future-makers and leaders of change where it matters.
In her free time, she volunteers as an ambassador at Deeplearning.AI, NWiMLDS, and of course Zindi.
Rose joined the Zindi platform to interact with fellow data scientists across the continent and better learn from them how to approach machine learning and data science challenges. She loves taking part in hackathons and helping organise Zindi events in Kenya.
Sharing her knowledge
When it comes to future endeavours, Rose is looking ahead to drive change and boost other people’s knowledge through talking about data science. She is also passionate about diversity in STEM and she advocates for women to join the field of AI and create impact.
“I have started an Instagram page (youthforai_africa) to let people know about data science and the fourth industrial revolution in a non-technical way, sharing knowledge on how AI will impact various industries. I have tried to make it accessible for young people just getting to learn about technology.”
Rose also blogs avidly, writing about important topics surrounding technology in Africa, and issues such as gender inequality and the power of male allies. Rose hopes that her online media efforts will encourage more people to learn about AI, machine learning and data science, driving her own community revolution by giving back her passion and her knowledge to a new generation.
Adjoa Adu-Poku is a communications and marketing intern at Zindi, and a full-time management consultant at Accenture. She is highly motivated by the applications of technology for social impact and development, and by the technical upskilling of talented youth. You can reach her on Linkedin at @adjoaadu-poku.
