INNOVATOR. SOFTWARE ENGINEER.
FRIEND.
Frederick Apina is an Innovator and Software engineer who is passionate about using technological innovations to improve access to services in Africa.
Frederick started his career as a machine learning engineer at an AI startup called ParrotAI. At ParrotAI, he reveled in the diverse challenges of creating and deploying AI models across a spectrum of applications, from aiding farmers in spotting plant diseases to assisting companies with cutting-edge data analytics. However, the thrill of impact led Frederick to venture into a new frontier at the end of 2019. He joined Belltro, a startup dedicated to revolutionizing Conversational AI in Africa. Here, he set out to craft Conversational AI technologies tailored to support the rich tapestry of African languages, adding a unique twist to his technological journey.
In the whirlwind of 2022, Frederick fulfilled a lifelong dream by presenting a groundbreaking technological innovation to the President of Tanzania on February 10th. Leading a team of software developers, he created a solution aimed at digitizing all physical addresses in Tanzania. The implementation of this solution has successfully provided addresses for over 18 million houses, facilitating increased access to social services, boosting e-commerce activities, and enhancing accessibility to emergency services for all Tanzanians.
Frederick then worked with Vodacom from Jul. 2021 to Jan. 2023 where he was a backend and Automation Developer. He crafted and fine-tuned crowd-favorite apps like My Vodacom and the ingenious AfyaCall Mini-app. But wait, there's more——Frederick birthed the backend system of the popular Vodacom 5G online shop and the 5G self-service portal, bringing seamless connectivity to the fingertips of Vodacom's customers. From Jan. 2023 to Oct. 2024, Frederick worked at the e-Government Authority where he was a Software Engineer creating technological solutions powering public digital services for millions of people in Tanzania. He was one of the software engineers behind the mGovernment platform which manages all the Government USSD and Messaging services.
Fast forward to today, Frederick now works at Interactive Technologies Institute, an R&D unit of the Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems (LARSyS) which specializes in design of innovative interactive systems and services that harmonise the entanglements between humans, non-humans, and digital technologies. Frederick is a Research engineer at ITI who specializes in Energy Demand forecasting and uncertainty quantification for distributed energy resources in smart grid planning and operations.
Frederick is now pursuing a Masters degree in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Madeira. He is a graduate of University of Dodoma's Class of 2019 where he graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering.
ROLES.
I have worked in different technical and leadership roles over the course of my career. These roles have taught me to think critically and strategically, helping me to become someone able to imagine, connect and work on technical efforts towards tangible objectives.
SPEAKING.
I enjoy sharing the things I learn in life. It’s always great to hear new views and opinions on the things that I talk about. Through sharing the things I know has helped me connect to lots of great people.
PUBLICATIONS & BLOG.
Through publishing I have been able to further my technical understanding of different ideas. The inputs I get from scholars have really been helpful in growing the ideas and research I have been fortunate to be part of.