Louis Fendji is an Associate Professor at the University of Ngaoundere in Cameroon and the Head of the Centre for Research, Experimentation and Production at the School of Chemical Engineering and Mineral Industries. He is also a member of the ICT and Artificial Intelligence Commission of the National Committee for Technology Development, hosted by the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation in Cameroon. Since 2024, he has been an Iso Lomso Fellow at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS).

Louis Fendji earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Bremen, Germany, in 2015. Following his doctoral studies, he collaborated with the German cooperation in Cameroon to design and deploy community networks. With support from APC and ISOC chapters, he developed a regulatory framework proposal for community networks in Francophone African countries. His research extends beyond connectivity for underserved populations, encompassing ICT and Responsible AI for Sustainable Development, with a primary focus on rural areas. He worked with the Alan Turing Institute on the Advancing Data Justice Research and Practice (ADJRP) project, bringing a sub-Saharan perspective to the discourse on data justice. He also served as Cameroon’s country researcher for the Global Index on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (GIRAI). Currently, he is a mentor for the African track of the Scaling Responsible AI Solutions (SRAIS) project, an initiative of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).

Louis Fendji’s HIAS project centers on the digital inclusion of individuals with low literacy levels. Digital inclusion remains a significant challenge for those speaking oral-only languages, as most digital services, including e-agriculture platforms, rely on text-based interfaces that exclude these languages. This hinders the usability and adoption of such services. Recent advancements in natural language processing, such as textless speech recognition, enable direct translation between spoken languages without transcription but have so far been applied only to well-resourced languages. His research aims to bridge this gap by developing voice-driven interfaces for an oral African language, initially focusing on agriculture-related applications. By replacing text fields in mobile forms with oral language inputs, this approach seeks to enhance accessibility and usability. Additionally, it holds the potential for broader applications, including cultural preservation.

Louis Fendji’s HIAS Fellowship is provided by the Joachim Herz Foundation.