Projects

2026

1. Research

   

   Take the Train: Africa at the Crossroad of Modern AI

   Cédric Manouan, Miquilina Anagbah, N’guessan Yves-Roland Douha, and 1 more author

   Mar 2026

   arXiv
2. Research

   

   Chat with PDF using vLLM + LangChain

   Cédric Manouan

   Mar 2026

   Abs Code

   A minimalistic, chat application designed to translate natural language into safe queries to learn more about election results, rankings, turnout, and more; implemented as a solution to a set of challenges for a Lead AI Engineer position.

2025

1. Competition

   

   Hackade ARC Challenge: Africa

   Cédric Manouan

   Jul 2025

   Abs PDF Code Website

   Built an LLM-based model that can solve puzzles presented in a modified version of the ARC-AGI dataset with about 32% accuracy. I ranked #10 and was selected as one of the official winners of the Zindi-sponsored flights to Deep Learning Indaba 2025.

2024

1. Research

   

   Wakanda AI: Engineering Smart Solutions for Mother Tongues by Advancing Language Technologies in the African Context

   Bhiksha Raj, Abraham Nyete, Moise Busogi, and 1 more author

   Jun 2024

   Abs Website

   In Africa, practical applications of speech technologies are scarce, often limited to adjusting pre-existing models. This project aims to overcome language barriers and enhance communication by developing innovative solutions that foster global understanding and inclusion. Key goals include establishing a data repository for several African languages, and developing speech and language models talored for local use cases.

2023

1. Research

   

   Robotics Transformer for CRAM (RT1-CRAM)

   Cédric Manouan and David Vernon

   Dec 2023

   Abs PDF Code

   A PyTorch re-implementation of RT-1 for the generation of actions represented as sequences of text tokens composed of the parameters to a CRAM generalized action plan.

2. Policy

   

   Strategic Proposal for AI Implementation in Rwanda

   Cédric Manouan

   Dec 2023

   Abs PDF

   A Proposal to support effective AI implementation and adoption in Rwanda based on an analysis of the National AI Policy.

3. Policy

   

   An Economic Analysis of the Rwandan National AI Policy

   Cédric Manouan

   Dec 2023

   Abs PDF

   A brief economic perspective based on the analysis of the Rwanda National AI Policy.

4. Research

   

   Reba: Rethinking Malaria Prevention in Rwanda Through Satellite Earth Observation

   Cédric Manouan

   May 2023

   Abs Video Poster

   A study on the use of ML4EO techniques in the development of end-to-end systems that can visually present the vulnerability level of a selected regions in Rwanda (at the District or Province level).

2022

1. Course Project

   

   RecSys challenge 2019: Session-based, Context-aware Recommender System in an Online Travel Domain

   Cédric Manouan, Benny Uhoranishema, and Happiness Karigirwa

   Nov 2022

   Abs PDF Code

   In this study, we developed a session-based and context-aware recommender system to adapt a list of accommodations according to the needs of the user. The objective was to specifically forecast, based on the circumstances of each session, which hotels will trigger a click-out action from the user.

2. Course Project

   

   A Solution to the Array Merging Problem

   Cédric Manouan

   Nov 2022

   Abs PDF

   In this work, I take a look at the function that combines the low-level solutions in the Merge-Sort procedure and design my solution to the array merging problem similarly.

3. Course Project

   

   Content-Based Recommender System for Scientific/Research Papers

   Cédric Manouan

   Oct 2022

   Abs PDF Code

   Developed a Content-Based Recommender system for scientific papers as part of my personal project. The recommendation lists are generated using cosine similarity and text features extracted through TF-IDF.

4. Course Project

   

   Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP): Flaws, Impact on African Businesses, and Mitigation Techniques

   Deji Adebayo, Arlette Houndji, Comfort Tenjier, and 5 more authors

   May 2022

   Abs Website

   This project outlines RDP, identifies its shortcomings, and assesses their implications for African businesses. The work aimed to offer practical suggestions for mitigating these issues, in order to foster a more conducive environment for sustainable economic growth and development in the region.

2021

1. Vision

   

   Identify Homography Between Images

   Cédric Manouan

   Nov 2021

   Abs PDF

   In this study, I explored a feature-based image stitching technique using different keypoints extraction methods and RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm to estimate the homography matrix between two input images taken from different viewpoints.

2020

1. Competition

   

   Runmila AI Institute & minoHealth AI Labs Tuberculosis Classification via X-Rays Challenge

   Cédric Manouan, Emmanuel Koupoh, and Muhamed Tuo

   Nov 2020

   Abs Code Website

   The purpose of this challenge was strictly educational, involving the exploration of machine learning and deep learning techniques for the development of a model capable of classifying tuberculosis and normal X-ray results.

2. Competition

   

   GIZ-NLP-Agricultural-Keyword-Spotter

   Muhamed Tuo, Cédric Manouan, and Emmanuel Koupoh

   Sep 2020

   Abs Code

   Contributed to the development of a Pretrained Audio Neural Networks (PANN)-like model to classify audio utterances in Luganda (from Uganda) and English.

3. Competition

   

   Spot the Mask Challenge (72 h)

   Muhamed Tuo, Emmanuel Koupoh, and Cédric Manouan

   May 2020

   Abs Code

   This hackathon was about predicting whether a person in an image is wearing a face mask or not. It was hosted by Zindi and lasted for 3 days (from Thursday 17 April to Sunday 19)

2019

1. Research

   

   Implementation of an Intelligent System for Precision Agriculture: The Case of Cassava Production - ESATIC

   Cédric Manouan

   Oct 2019

   Abs PDF

   The evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT) has enabled the development of various sectors. Consequently, the Ivorian government has initiated the Digital Solutions Project for Rural Area Access and E-Agriculture (PSNDEA) to create digital solutions that streamline work processes and enhance the productivity of rural farmers. The proposed solution is a system primarily based on two technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). This system supports farmers in managing their resources to improve their overall performance. This work is divided into three parts. The first part introduces the hosting organization and outlines the project. The second part discusses the methodology employed. Finally, the third part covers the implementation of the solution and provides a discussion of the results.

2018

1. Competition

   

   Image recognition (48 h) - ESATIC Technovore Hackathon (Level 2)

   Emmanuel Koupoh and Cédric Manouan

   Jul 2018

   Abs

   Contributed to the development of a deep learning model to recognize West African bank notes and coins.

2017

1. Competition

   

   Cryptography - ESATIC Technovore Hackathon Level 1

   Emmanuel Koupoh, Muhamed Tuo, and Cédric Manouan

   Jul 2017

   Abs

   Contributed to the research and development of the encryption algorithm used by an executable-only program. What makes our approach unique is its implementation in both Python and C++.