Marivate joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria,where he rose to the rank of Professor and holds the ABSA-UP Chair of Data Science.[4][5] He leads the Data Science for Social Impact research group,applying ML and AI techniques to societal challenges such as public safety,energy,and utilities,with a special focus on enhancing methods,tools,and datasets for low-resource and local African languages.[4][5]
Marivate’s research centres on the intersection of ML/AI and NLP,striving to make AI technologies inclusive of African languages such as isiZulu,Sepedi,and Setswana. He is:
Co-founder of Lelapa AI,an African startup developing AI solutions by Africans for Africans.[5]
Co-founder and chief investigator of the Masakhane Research Foundation,which builds NLP technologies for African languages.[6]
Co-founder of the Deep Learning Indaba,a premier grassroots ML/AI conference empowering African researchers.[4]
Principal Investigator of the Data Science for Social Impact research group at UP.[5]
Through these roles,he has contributed to open-science datasets,models,and tools,and he actively collaborates with industry and government to translate research into real-world impact.
AI research
His research focuses on ML and AI methods that address societal challenges,with a special emphasis on NLP for African languages.[8] In particular,he works to improve models and data availability for low-resource African languages. For example,he co-founded the Masakhane research community to build NLP tools and datasets for languages such as isiZulu,Sepedi and Setswana,[2] and the Deep Learning Indaba conference to strengthen the African AI research community.[8] His approach consistently highlights inclusion and ethics:in a 2025 panel he discussed how licensing and data access should balance innovation with protecting community interests in African language datasets.[6] Overall,Marivate’s work is characterised by bridging cutting-edge AI research with local African contexts,ensuring that AI systems are inclusive of Africa’s languages and needs.[2][8]
Lelapa AI
Marivate is a co‑founder of Lelapa AI,an African AI startup. Lelapa’s mission is “to use African talent and perspectives to build distinctly African solutions for African problems.”[9] In practice,Lelapa describes itself as a “socially grounded Africa‑centric AI research &product lab”that develops technology for African businesses,governments and non‑profits.[10] The company explicitly aims to attract top African AI talent back to the continent by working on problems local researchers care about.[10]
The startup is building NLP models for under-resourced African languages,supporting communicationin local language. Marivate serves as one of Lelapa’s co-founders (alongside several other AI leaders),and he has said the company’s goal is to ensure “African needs and values [are] at the forefront of AI advancements.”[2][10]
Awards and recognition
UP EBIT Exceptional Young Researcher Award for outstanding contributions to data science and AI research.[11]
Fulbright Science and Technology Scholarship recipient during his PhD studies at Rutgers University.[3]
Named a “Young Global Leader”by the World Economic Forum for his work in AI and NLP (implied by his WEF profile listing).[4]
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