Souba · Software and AI

We build software and deploy AI in your systems.

Souba is made up of experts in software and applied AI. We build our own solutions, adapt them to your needs and deploy them with your teams. We then maintain and improve them over time.

  • Our own solutions

    Tools built by Souba can be adapted for several organisations. Each project builds on that existing work while keeping the features and rules specific to the client.

  • Projects built with you

    Your project is developed with the people who will use the software. Their feedback helps test the workflows and prepare for go-live.

  • A team that stays involved

    After launch, we provide the maintenance and improvements covered by our agreement.

Your data remains yours. Our agreement sets out what belongs to you and what Souba may reuse. Your data and confidential work are not reused for other clients.

Bakary Diarrassouba speaking in front of the Google logo. Bakary Diarrassouba on stage, in front of a screen presenting NotebookLM.
Bakary Diarrassouba during a presentation at Google.

Our founder

Bakary Diarrassouba, founder of Souba.

Experience in product, engineering and applied research.

Bakary Diarrassouba worked at Google Labs and General Motors. He co-founded Jengo, a voice-first AI platform, and helped bring the Bambara language to Google Translate.

Our team members and collaborators have worked at Google, Capital One, Apple, IBM and Orange.

Through Souba, he puts that experience to work for businesses and institutions in Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa.

Read his articles in the Insights section

Where we start

Abidjan

Build here. Serve further.

AbidjanWest AfricaWorld

Our starting point: Abidjan

Being in Abidjan lets us work closely with the teams and people who will use our tools. We account for their habits, languages and the constraints of their organisation.

Solutions built here can then be adapted for other organisations in West Africa and beyond.

See our projects

Learn and share

What we learn, we share.

We take part in schools and hackathons, to help young talent get started with AI. In 2025, Souba supported ABIHACK, a 48-hour AI hackathon held at ENSEA in partnership with Google.

A full lecture hall listens to the speaker on stage, between two ABIHACK 2025 banners.
The opening of ABIHACK 2025, at ENSEA.
Three young men present their project on stage; a fourth speaks to them into a microphone.
A team presents its project.
Four young people in ABIHACK 2025 T-shirts with “Staff” badges smile in front of the welcome banner.
The ABIHACK 2025 organising team.
Three men look at a laptop screen together, in a lecture hall.
Between two sessions.
Participants pose in front of the “Welcome to Byte Hacks 2025” screen.
With the participants of Byte Hacks 2025.

  • Research

    Souba Lab

    When customers speak in their own words and accents, what does AI actually understand? We test models in real situations to identify their limits and explore how to adapt them. We will share our results when they are ready, explaining their limitations.

  • Community In preparation

    Orange Blanc Vert

    A nonprofit community in preparation in Abidjan, where people can learn about AI, share tools and build projects together.

We also share our ideas in the Insights section.

An idea to build?

Let’s talk