Okinga-Koumu pulled a phone from the pocket of her blue jeans and opened a prototype web app she's built. Using VR and AI features, the app allows students to simulate using the necessary lab equipment--exploring 3D models of the tools in a real-world setting, like a classroom or lab. "Students could have detailed VR of lab equipment, making their hands-on experience more effective," she said. Established in 2017, the Deep Learning Indaba now has chapters in 47 of the 55 African nations and aims to boost AI development across the continent by providing training and resources to African AI researchers like Okinga-Koumu. Africa is still early in the process of adopting AI technologies, but organizers say the continent is uniquely hospitable to it for several reasons, including a relatively young and increasingly well-educated population, a rapidly growing ecosystem of AI startups, and lots of potential consumers.