About ANT R&D

ANT R&D (Artificially (e)Ngineering Technologies) is a grassroots innovation lab based in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. We build smart, small-scale technologies rooted in our realities—from AI to signal systems to embedded devices.

Local, noisy, low-resource datasets? That’s our domain. We don’t adapt global tools—we invent our own from scratch, for us.

Philosophy

  • Ethical by default: All datasets require informed consent & open licenses.
  • Inclusion-first: Focused on dialect-limited and education-limited users.
  • Noise is a feature: We work with real-world data, not cleaned-up lab samples.
  • Local-first design: We build for Nigeria. Then scale out.

Our Vision

To be a beacon of grassroots innovation—designing technologies that speak to our world, our people, and our problems.

Our Mission

  • Create ethically built, realistic datasets reflecting Nigerian life.
  • Design AI, embedded systems, and signal tools for local use.
  • Promote open collaboration and knowledge sharing.

What We Work On

Artificial Intelligence

Small, noise-tolerant, real-world AI models.

Embedded Systems

Low-cost, rugged solutions for Nigerian environments.

Signal Processing

Smart filtering for audio, images, biometrics in noisy settings.

Data Engineering

We build datasets that reflect real life—imperfections and all.

Research & Publications

Deepfake detection, Agritech, Afro-centered tools and datasets.

From the Founder

ANT R&D was born out of necessity.

The world builds tech for itself. But our realities—our noise, our data, our challenges—are left out. This is my personal response. A lab where African innovation is designed from scratch.

— Charles Ekanem

Location

Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Remote-ready, collaboration welcome across Nigeria and beyond.