ARAB NEWS Friday, December 20, 2019 3

Spotlight

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Egyptian tech firm turns an intelligent eye on ‘trendy’ AIAhmed Gabr Cairo

hype surrounding the technology instead of making results-driven investments.

Dr. Mark Esposito, the instructor of Harvard’s two-day intensive AI in Business program, shares this view, with one publication quoting him as saying that “the low-hanging fruit is recognizing where in the value chain (compa-nies) can improve operations. AI does not start with AI. It starts at the company level.”

time for AI, not just in the region but also around the globe.

While companies are excited to explore its use to obtain insights that can help them transform their products and services, employees are fearful of losing their jobs to AI-powered bots.

“AI is trendy now, and there are so many talks and events about it, (but) many executives might agree that despite all the interest, tangible business results are scarce,” said Ahmed Abaza, co-founder and CEO of Synapse Analytics, an Egyptian digital transformation company helping businesses adopt AI solutions.

Founded in January 2018 by 29-year-old Abaza and Galal El-Beshbishy, 24, the Cairo-based venture has been experimenting with a variety of market sectors — from robotics to banking — and utilizing AI for everything, from image tracking and analysis to business analytics.

The company’s ultimate goal is to revisit how AI could be

An Egyptian technology business is aiming to help regional enter-prises benefit from the use of artifi-cial intelligence (AI).

AI is being relentlessly integrated into the fundamentals of business and everyday life, demonstrating exceptional potential for boosting the global economy.

In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the new technology is expected to make an economic contribution of $320 billion (SR1.2 trillion) by 2030, with gains expanding annually by between 20 percent and 34 percent.

Saudi Arabia is forecast to be the chief beneficiary of this trend as it adds an estimated $135.2 billion to its gross domestic product, with the Neom smart city project being a clear sign of the Kingdom’s commitment to technology and AI.

On the other hand, there has never been a more controversial

incorporated within enterprises.In spite of an influx of funds

into AI business adoption, Abaza believes that firms can easily fall victim to the powerful

However, this is not the only challenge for the region’s AI sector. Many executives that Synapse Analytics worked with could not understand the poten-tial of the technology.

“Pitching that we could save 15 percent of their working capital using AI seemed too good to be true,” said Abaza.

IT personnel were not exposed to much AI, either, which made them demand extensive testing and led to project delays.

Finding and maintaining talent was another challenge for the fledgling industry.

Abaza said that a good AI engineer was a person with comprehensive knowledge across multiple domains, including software development, IT, statis-tics and mathematics, plus a hefty dose of business acumen.

Synapse Analytics currently has a team of more than 30 employees, all from highly diversified backgrounds.

“Retaining these talents in the

Egyptian market could be a bit challenging since competent AI engineers and data scientists are in huge demand globally,” Abaza added.

To make it easier for businesses to tap into AI, the company is transforming the services it offers into products.

The first one, Azka Vision, is an AI suite designed to collect data from surveillance cameras and CCTVs to provide material for actionable insights.

Two more products are expected to launch soon, including Azka Analytics, an end-to-end supply chain optimization platform using AI that will help companies cut operational costs.

According to Abaza, Synapse Analytics is a profitable operation with a range of local and inter-national clients across the retail, fashion, and finance industries.

His aim is for the company to become a big data and AI lab not only for businesses but for economies, too.

ENVIRONMENT

Green, eco-friendly design? This Algerian startup has it all sewn up

Matt Smith Barcelona

makers and apparel shops. “By saving these items from being thrown away, we’re having an environmental impact because they otherwise could take 50 to 100 years to biodegrade,” said Ouazane.

The company’s equipment is low-tech, with the fabrics dyed in large saucepans heated over a kitchen stove before being hung out to dry on a simple garden washing line.

Next, they are cut to shape, and then Mokhtari and Ouazane

in the Mediterranean port city of Bejaia, east of Algeria’s capital Algiers. It sells its products at bargain prices considering the craftsmanship that goes into their production. For example, dolls are priced at 2,000 dinars, bags at 1,000 dinars and tablecloths at 500 dinars.

Items are made from discarded clothing and fabrics, including denim jeans, cotton shirts, woollen jumpers, blankets and bedding.

These offcuts are typically collected from industrial garment

work their magic with a sewing machine.

Although the equipment is basic, the results are extraordinary, as the tourist clientele and eco-conscious locals can testify.

The couple also screen-print their handmade designs onto bed covers. “We have been able to reach a customer base that is more and more interested in helping achieve a positive ecological outcome,” Ouazane said.

He highlighted the firm’s social impact in providing employment and boosting public awareness of the importance of reusing textiles.

Atelier Le Printemps, which has three employees, also holds children’s workshops to show youngsters the full process —

from collecting discarded clothes to turning them into entirely new items.

As well as utilizing offcuts from other clothing and industrial garment workshops, the company also reuses material left over from its own production.

“By improving waste collec-tion to make it more efficient, this waste can be reused and other products, such as packaging, recycled,” Ouazane added.

“We’re taking steps to make our business more and more green —that’s everything from the collec-tion of raw materials through to their processing in an environ-mentally friendly way.

“All through these processes, we seek to follow the core principles of eco-design.”

A green-thinking Algerian startup is doing its bit for the environment by turning discarded fabrics into high-quality goods.

Atelier Le Printemps sells products created by using only natural dyes and eco-friendly processes.

Along with expanding its produc-tion output, the company is also slowly but surely helping reduce the need for Algeria to import fabrics, which, in turn, will shrink the country’s carbon footprint.

According to data from the World Bank, Algeria imported $1.15 billion of textiles in 2017, of which $506 million came from China, more than 9,000 km away.

In contrast, Algeria’s textiles exports totaled a mere $4 million the same year. “We have created a green workshop that is part of the circular economy,” said Anis Ouazane, 32, who co-owns the company with his wife, Nardjes Mokhtari, 37.

The business was founded by Ouazane’s mother is 2004. However, it was a markedly different operation back in the day, doing repairs of old bedding, such as duvets and blankets.

Following the founder’s death, Mokhtari joined the company, which then switched to turning discarded fabric into new products such as dolls, bags, tablecloths, cushions and rugs.

“Nardjes has always been passionate about sewing, creating things and recovering textiles, but she was not predestined to work with me because she graduated in finance,” said Ouazane.

The company obtained a loan of 100,000 Algerian dinars ($837) from Angem, the government-run micro-finance agency. It also received backing from an NGO that supports for recycling projects.

Atelier Le Printemps is based

When it comes to helping the environment, Atelier Le Printemps’ rags-to-riches story is well worth celebrating

We have reached a customer base that is more interested in achieving a positive ecological outcome.

‘Many executives might agree that despite all the interest (in AI), tangible business results are scarce.’

Cairo-based digital transformation firm Synapse Analytics has been exploring AI’s benefits in market sectors ranging from robotics to banking. Supplied

Jean genies: Algerian startup Atelier Le Printemps sells items made from discarded clothing and fabrics at bargain prices. The company also runs children’s workshops to explain its green production techniques. Supplied

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