Yanick Kemayou

About

I am Co-founder and Chief Learning Officer at Kabakoo Academies, where we are pioneering what we call “Highdigenous” approaches to youth upskilling in West Africa. Highdigenous means intentionally fusing high-tech innovation with indigenous knowledge systems to create solutions that are both globally cutting-edge and locally rooted.

My personal journey grounds this work: from street vendor in Cameroon to PhD economist (Universität Paderborn), I have lived the precarity that more than 80% of West African youth face in informal economies. At Kabakoo, we have built evidence-based pathways combining AI-powered mobile learning with community-driven practice. We are developing language technologies for underrepresented languages like Bamanankan, creating hybrid learning systems focused on accessibility, and running real-world innovation labs where learners build things like Le Nid de Bamako, a 130m² pavilion woven from 2,000 handcrafted fans, or TabliCool, a refrigerator using centuries-old clay evaporation techniques.

At REAL ML Mexico, I stress-tested our Bamanankan AI system in the Analytics track. As a 2026 Steering Committee member, I am committed to centering voices building AI for communities systematically excluded from both AI development and its benefits. My goal is to make “AI for the most” not aspiration but lived practice.