Where bright minds and CPI meet
Always on the hunt for top talent, we embarked on a search for people with machine learning skills to predict South Africa’s monthly inflation rate as proxied by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). We partnered with Zindi (Africa’s largest community of data scientists) to find data scientists who use datasets in developing models to compete in the Nowcasting CPI Challenge. Now in the final stages of the challenge, we are eagerly awaiting the results of who the front-runners will be.
Meet the data scientists shaping the challenge
Alex Mulaji, shares his experience on exploring data engineering as an approach for the challenge.
Ntuthoko Tsokodibane, shares how advanced algorithm has inspired him to enhance his programming skills.
Puja Pande, shares how she has used the competition to grow her confidence and skills in data science.
MG Ferreira, explains how using big data makes this competition unique.
What’s up for grabs?
A total of US$20,000 can be won, split across monthly prizes and our overall final prize categories:
- First place (based on accuracy at a total CPI and sub-category level)
- Second place (based on accuracy at a total CPI and sub-category level)
- The best South African solution
- The most innovative solution
*Terms and Conditions Apply
Timeline and submission process
- The competition launched on 21 March 2023
- From May to September, submit monthly predictions for CPI
- The most accurate prediction each month will win a prize
- We’ll test until November. After that, winners will be announced and final prizes paid
WHAT IS CPI?
Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation in South Africa. It indicates how the average price level of a fixed basket of goods and services, bought by a typical consumer, changes over time.
Skills for the future
If you are looking to explore how you can use your unique talent as a data professional and wish to apply for positions at RMB, the FirstRand careers website has similar opportunities to explore.
