About OpenTrace
OpenTrace is an African-led agricultural intelligence startup building the continent’s first large-scale data platform for agriculture, climate, and food systems. We transform fragmented datasets from public, private, and field-level sources into structured, validated, and AI-powered insights that help governments, investors, and agribusinesses make better decisions.
We are at an exciting stage, building out our partnerships, expanding our data architecture, and preparing to scale our prototype into a fully deployable platform across Africa.
The Opportunity
OpenTrace provides Master students with access to a comprehensive agricultural data warehouse spanning five African countries, offering unique opportunities for thesis research at the intersection of data science, machine learning, and agricultural development. By structuring fragmented agricultural data from five African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone), validating them through multiple points, and layering a user-friendly AI interface on top, OpenTrace is creating one of the most extensive African agricultural data platforms where insights are not only available, but accessible through a simple question.
Available Project Tracks
As a Master Student at OpenTrace, you will have access to curated datasets in the agricultural knowledge space across our five target countries, available through a cloud-based data warehouse. Research projects can combine methodological innovation with practical applications relevant to African agricultural challenges.
– Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning
Within the predictive modeling and machine learning space, you could develop machine learning models for agricultural data modeling, such as crop yield prediction and recommendation systems, food security early warning indicators, market price forecasting, or climate impact assessments. During a time of intensifying climate shocks and growing investments in food systems, you can contribute to the growing research body on using technological opportunities to improve conditions for farmers across the African continent.
– Cross-Country Comparative Analysis
If your research interest lies in cross-country comparative analysis, you could use our comprehensive data warehouse to explore agricultural patterns, and link them to policies, and outcomes across our five target countries using comparative methodologies. Your research could, among others, explore trade efficiencies, productivity differentials, policy impact assessments, or regional patterns within African agricultural markets.
– Data Integration and Methodological Innovation
Next to collecting agricultural data across Africa and making it accessible to end-users through prompt based tools, the contribution of OpenTrace’s comprehensive data warehouse also lies in the harmonization and validation of data from different sources. If this is within your range of interest, you could carve out a project on addressing technical challenges in agricultural data science, including but not limited to topics such as multi-source data harmonization, alignment of agricultural statistics, uncertainty quantification in agricultural models or approaches to handling missing data in development contexts.
Structure and Support
Master students at OpenTrace receive comprehensive support from our data and AI team as well as access to our cloud computing infrastructure. We will provide you with technical mentoring covering machine learning implementation, data engineering best practices, and domain-specific considerations for agricultural applications. You will get the opportunity to explore and gain proficiency in real-world tooling such as Google Cloud Platform and Git while having access to a wealth of curated data. Successful projects could also lead to employment opportunities at OpenTrace.