Webb Fontaine has announced crucial investments into Africa with plans to open an Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Centre on the continent. The move aims to answer to an important demand by Governments globally, to implement AI-powered solution for Trade.

The R&D Centre was announced by Webb Fontaine founder and Trade Technology Innovator, Jean Gulbenk Gurunlian, during the inaugural Bloomberg Invest Africa online event held this week.

“There is talent in Africa, particularly in technology innovation, but we need more. Webb Fontaine is testament to this with several African led and staffed offices across the region. We are witnessing an age of tremendous advancement across the African continent whereby a wave of digital transformation, new ideas and ways of working are transforming the Trade and Customs landscape.

Webb Fontaine’s new R&D Centre will contribute to this by growing and nurturing fresh local talent, of which there is no shortage in the region, and supporting local governments to drive economic growth powered by the latest innovations and technology. Africa’s top talent will not only develop solutions to benefit the African continent, but will build AI applications to be used across the world, contributing to Webb Fontaine’s global mission.”

Since its foundation, Webb Fontaine has strived to evolve the Trade and Customs industry and support governments to improve, facilitate and streamline their processes. The new Centre will be home to large AI engineering teams developing Webb Fontaine’s next generation AI and machine learning capabilities. Webb Fontaine currently has 5 industry leading R&D centres across the world.