How African talent is creating high quality content with AI

Plus livestock facial recognition that's unlocking financing for millions of women

Greetings from Dubai

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Ng'ombe News.

Jenny Ambukiyenyi Onya's Halisi Livestock is turning cattle (Ng’ombe) into bankable assets using smartphone-based facial recognition for animals. Yep! In Africa where women represent 60% of smallholder farmers but receive only 10% of agricultural loans, her solution provides digital identity for livestock that can't be falsified, unlocking financing for tens of millions of excluded women. Her company has registered over 1,250 head of livestock in Kenya, proving the model works. Traditional ear tags are fragile and easy to fake, but AI-powered biometric recognition creates proof of ownership.

Moonshot x The Rundown Presents: Creatives in Africa

The highlight for me this month was a conversation about AI and Creatives in Africa. Thank you TechCabal and Moonshot for hosting this with The Rundown Studio. It’s been close to my heart since leaving CNN, and my goal is to continue to build the creative and cultural industries in Africa… with AI. The creative industry is in transition. African filmmakers can create broadcast-quality content with monthly AI subscriptions that cost less than a single day of traditional film equipment rental.

Scroll below for some of their tips on how to create quality content with Al

My friend and former CNN colleague Marie Lora-Mungai was part of the convo. She is the real deal in this industry, bringing 20 years of experience advising investors on creative industry opportunities across Africa with Restless Global. Her perspective was so valuable given her work channeling capital into the creative space. If you’re Kenyan you’ll recognize her work - she partnered with Gaddo to create the XYZ show, a political satire. You can check it out here

Issa Sissoko and Dembel Sow are two filmmakers whose work is reshaping what's possible for creators on the continent. They're building entirely new workflows that make sense for African contexts and budgets, not replicating existing practices that might not work for us.

Issa shared his experience working on high-profile projects. He shared how he uses Google's AI tools ecosystem, including Notebook LM, Imagen, and Veo, to create structured workflows for AI filmmaking. He shot a film showcasing Idris Elba in a film about Mansa Musa and Mansa Abu Bakr II's quest to explore the Atlantic before Columbus. You can check it out here.

Dembel, is a Senegalese filmmaker and screenwriter based in Dakar . He’s one of Africa's leading voices in AI-powered cinema, with experience in 3D animation. His recent short film "Thiaroye 44," created in collaboration with Senegalese music star Dip Doundou Guiss, went viral globally for its powerful portrayal of the 1944 massacre of Senegalese soldiers by French forces. The project showed AI's potential to bring historical stories to life that would have been prohibitively expensive using traditional filmmaking methods. France24 did a piece on this, you can watch it here.

Main takeaway:

Professional creators are creating broadcast-standard content with AI tools and laptops. Work that used to require teams and huge budgets is now possible with creativity and internet access. African filmmakers are using AI to create structured workflows. They upload scripts and character descriptions, ask AI to create 50-shot breakdowns, generate static images first to test scenes, then animate only what works perfectly. This levels the playing field between African creatives and major studios. The disruption will come from outsiders who master these tools first, not from traditional production houses adapting slowly.

Insights from Creatives Using AI

Let Al Handle the Repetitive Work: Professional creatives use Al for shot lists, file organization, and structuring projects. You focus on the creative decisions and client relationships. You no longer have to spend days structuring each shot.

Use Al as Your Creative Assistant: Brainstorm ideas, identify gaps in your work, get feedback on concepts. Think of it as having a conversation with a very smart creative partner. Creative success now means knowing how to get the best results from Al. It's about communication and iteration, not technical expertise.

Video Al Tools Are Getting More Expensive: Current cheap subscriptions won't last. As capabilities improve, costs will rise fast. Get skilled now while tools are still accessible. The window for affordable learning is closing

Al Models Don't Understand African Contexts: Western Al often adds stereotypical imagery and misses cultural nuances. Your local knowledge creates authentic content competitors can't match. Al democratizes the ability to create authentic African content.

TV-Quality Animation Without the TV Budget: Professional animators are creating broadcast-standard content with Al tools. Work that used to require teams and huge budgets now possible with laptops and creativity. We can compete directly with big studios. The disruption will come from outsiders who master these tools first.

How To Create Quality Animation Content with Al

• Upload your script, character descriptions, and story outline to Al.

• Ask Al to create a 50-shot breakdown for your video.

• Generate static images first to test if scenes look right.

• Only animate the images that work perfectly.

• Edit together like traditional video.

For the question of style consistency use a Reverse Engineering approach:

• Find reference material that matches the desired visual style

• Ask AI to identify and describe the art style and cinematography

• Use that language to generate new content in the same style

• Solve problems shot by shot through compositing and workarounds

Innovation Vs Infrastructure

Africa holds just 1% of global data center capacity, and according to Bright Simons from Ghana's Imani Centre, Africans account for less than 0.5% of machine learning models globally. Companies like Qhala find themselves renting computing power from data centers thousands of miles away, racing to complete work before traffic slows their connections.

I don't think Africa can afford to outsource this AI sovereignty to others. We absolutely have to focus on and ensure that we don't get left behind - Cassava CEO Hardy Pemhiwa

Microsoft's nearly $300 million commitment to South Africa and Cassava Technologies' planned data centers across Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria will help, but these projects are expected to ease only 20% of local demand.

My Africa Journalism Prompt: A Video Tutorial

Try out my AI copilot for reporting on Africa. Think of this as installing an experienced Africa editor into your AI tool. The editor will review your work, suggest improvements or help generate story outlines that showcase African agency rather than perpetuating tired narratives. Here.

Thanks

Zain