Technology giant IBM is rolling out its supercomputer system Watson across Africa.

Named after IBM's former president Thomas Watson, the supercomputer technology uses artificial intelligence to quickly analyse huge amounts of data and understand human language well enough to hold sophisticated conversations.

And in a statement, IBM says it is bringing Watson and other cognitive systems to Africa as part of an initiative dubbed “Project Lucy”, named after the earliest known human ancestor.

IBM says it plans to invest $100 million in the Project Lucy initiative.

The move comes about after IBM launched its first African research lab in Nairobi, Kenya last year.

IBM says the Watson technologies are planned to be deployed from its Africa research laboratory to help develop commercially-viable solutions in key areas such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation, human mobility and agriculture.

“In the last decade, Africa has been a tremendous growth story -- yet the continent's challenges, stemming from population growth, water scarcity, disease, low agricultural yield and other factors are impediments to inclusive economic growth,” said Kamal Bhattacharya, director, IBM Research – Africa.

“With the ability to learn from emerging patterns and discover new correlations, Watson's cognitive capabilities hold enormous potential in Africa – helping it to achieve in the next two decades what today's developed markets have achieved over two centuries,” said Bhattacharya.

Moreover, IBM says it also plans to establish a pan-African ‘Centre of Excellence for Data-Driven Development’ (CEDD).

The company says it is recruiting research partners such as universities, development agencies, start-ups and clients in Africa and around the world for this initiative.