By Stephanie Smith, Building Kentucky
In 2013, two young men boarded the same flight from their home in Senegal and traveled to the United States. The two soon met at the ESL Newcomer Academy in Louisville and realized that their fathers were good friends, and they too became close.
As the story goes, after Sada Wane and Ahmadou “Bamba” Diop graduated from Central High School, they pursued different academic paths. Wane received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and informatics from Indiana University and studied neuroscience at The University of Louisville. Diop studied business operations and supply chain management at Jefferson Community & Technical College’s KY FAME program and then received a bachelor’s degree from Northwood University.
The two friends soon became business partners and co-founded their first business, XpressRun, a software logistics company that helps small and medium-sized businesses offer same-day delivery.
Fast forward to 2024, Wane and Diop started Nongo AI, a company that leverages AI to help maintenance technicians troubleshoot faster by reducing search time and standardizing the process.
“Our company is built to be the indispensable copilot, guiding maintenance technicians through every step with confidence and precision,” Wane said.
Their new venture comes at a good time, as both advanced manufacturing and logistics continue to be key drivers of economic growth in the Commonwealth with 48 percent of projects in Greater Louisville, Inc.’s business attraction and expansion pipeline falling in those categories. Advanced manufacturing jobs make up 3,000 of the 3,711 potential jobs currently in the pipeline.
“In past positions, I’ve faced the issue of locating relevant documents when troubleshooting,” Diop said. “The Kentucky FAME program at Jefferson that I participated in offers students well-rounded experience in all types of advanced manufacturing such as electronics, mechanics, robotics and much more that leads to a certification as an advanced manufacturing technician.”
In addition, according to Gov. Beshear, manufacturing continues to be a key factor in Kentucky’s record economic growth and job creation with more than 6,000 facilities statewide employing over 260,000 Kentuckians. The industry also contributes $38 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.
Learn more about Nongo AI at https://www.nongolabs.com/.
