Three innovators from Eswatini have triumphed in the SATNAC Industry Solutions Challenge, a regional event that fosters innovation in tackling real-world industry problems. The competition, featuring top student innovators from across Africa, focused on addressing pressing ICT challenges.
The winning team, composed of Bandile Malaza, Wandile Hlatshwako, and Tshidiso Hlophe, developed an advanced fraud detection system to enhance digital platform security. Their project employs data analytics and machine learning to identify and prevent fraudulent activities.
“Our solution is a real-time fraud detection system,” explained Hlatshwako. “It combines ensemble machine learning models for high detection accuracy and includes explainable AI and LLM integration for transparency. This enables non-technical users to understand the system, which also features big data analytics and end-to-end security.”
Bandile Malaza shared their motivation: “Fraud undermines the good work of innovators. We wanted to protect and preserve the integrity of digital services.” The solution is versatile, applicable across various industries to safeguard companies from potential loss.
Despite the challenges of remote collaboration, the team effectively assigned tasks, communicated efficiently, and iteratively improved their model. “Our teamwork was entirely virtual, and we continually refined our model for optimal performance,” emphasized Hlatshwako.
Looking ahead, the team plans to deploy their solution in cloud environments to enhance scalability and data handling capabilities. They also aim to seek further investment and partnerships to expand the solution’s reach.
The team expressed deep gratitude to Amdocs, the challenge sponsor, and the University of Eswatini’s Computer Science Department. Malaza acknowledged, “Our success was a team effort, backed by invaluable support from our university and sponsors.
cm/jm/today/12.10.2024