He leverages the latest technologies to help Ivorian cocoa producers maximize their production. His innovative solution has won several awards.

Amadou Aziz Kamagate (photo) is an Ivorian developer specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. He is better known as one of the co-founders of CocoaShield, a tech solution aimed at combating swollen shoot, a virus that affects cocoa plantations.

CocoaShield, an agritech startup launched in 2023 by Kamagate, Florian-Kevin Konan Saraka, and Topka Grace-Kelly, leverages AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect and limit the spread of swollen shoot. Through drones and mobile AI-equipped devices, the disease is visually identified, while smart stations monitor plantation conditions in real time.

This approach allows for targeted treatment of infected trees and paves the way for the long-term eradication of the virus. In September 2024, CocoaShield won the Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize for Africa and the Middle East in Côte d'Ivoire.

In addition to his role at CocoaShield, Kamagate is a senior software engineer at Stanbic Bank in Côte d'Ivoire. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer programming in 2019 from Pigier Côte d'Ivoire, followed by a master's in big data for augmented and human reality from the École Supérieure des Technologies Industrielles Avancées (ESTIA) in 2023. That same year, he also obtained a master's in AI and big data from the École Supérieure Africaine des TIC (ESATIC).

Between 2020 and 2021, Kamagate worked as a software engineering intern at Allianz Côte d'Ivoire, an insurance company. In 2022, he served as a software engineering consultant for Moov Africa Côte d'Ivoire. In 2023, he won first place at the Orange Summer Challenge Côte d'Ivoire.

Melchior Koba