Firm unveils AI assistant for African businesses

Nigerian technology firm Jafi AI Services Limited has launched an artificial intelligence assistant Alice, integrated with a business directory that currently lists more than 22,000 verified companies across 54 African countries. Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Mmesoma Onyebuchi, Head of Development, said the platform covers sectors including banking, hospitals, airlines, hotels […]

Nigerian technology firm Jafi AI Services Limited has launched an artificial intelligence assistant Alice, integrated with a business directory that currently lists more than 22,000 verified companies across 54 African countries.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Mmesoma Onyebuchi, Head of Development, said the platform covers sectors including banking, hospitals, airlines, hotels and restaurants. “Users can search businesses by location, view photos, read reviews and compare services across multiple African markets,” she said.

Alice, she added, “It operates in several African languages, including English, French, Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba and Hausa. It comes with seven modules that cover image generation, coding, business planning, fitness, medical assistance and therapy. Users can input personal data such as allergies, blood group and genotype to receive guidance tailored to their profile,” Onyebuchi said.

Ochoyi Blessing, Head of Data, said the business directory was manually verified. “Each business was contacted before listing, and owners can claim their profiles to manage bookings, generate invoices and gain visibility on the platform. The service is free at the moment, but we plan to introduce premium packages next year,” she said.

Samuel Ekpo, Head of Technical Department, addressed data security concerns, saying the platform uses end-to-end encryption and runs on independent servers. “Our system is not connected to any Western AI. Conversations with Alice are private and inaccessible from the backend,” he said.

Ekpo said the platform, which launched in July 2025, has more than 35,000 users across Nigeria as of today, Egypt, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa, with around 1,000 new signups daily. “We expect the user base to reach 100,000 by January 2026,” he said. He added that future updates will integrate African school curricula from primary to tertiary levels to support learning and skills development.

“The mobile application is 70 per cent complete and will allow users to access Alice fully on smartphones once released,” Onyebuchi said. “It will also enable businesses to manage customer interactions, receive bookings, and generate invoices directly through the platform.”