Ronald Tombe

Dr. Ronald Tombe is an expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and ICT4D, with experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating digital systems that promote sustainable development and inclusivity. With over a decade of experience in academia and research, he currently serves as a Research Fellow at Future Africa, University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Lecturer at Kisii University, Kenya. His work focuses on inclusive digital transformation, particularly in agriculture and health systems, emphasizing Indigenous Knowledge Systems and digital innovation. As part of a transdisciplinary initiative at Future Africa, Dr. Tombe completed a project, "Inclusive Agricultural Transformation: Innovations and Scaling of Digital Systems for Enhancing Productivity, Knowledge Preservation and Incomes of Indigenous Communities." Dr. Tombe is also the lead in a strategic public health project titled "Strategic Implementation Framework for Safe and Ethical Cardiac Surgery in Kisii County, Kenya." He has developed the project's data management and registry implementation framework to support ethical data use in alignment with Kenyan data protection regulations, under the formal approval of Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, ISERC and NACOSTI. Dr. Tombe earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and has authored numerous journal and conference papers. He is Chairperson of the Artificial Intelligence Alliance in Agriculture (AIAA), driving innovation and policy advocacy at the intersection of AI, food systems and healthcare.