Sixteen (16) innovators selected from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, The Republic of the Congo, Togo, and Uganda have been shortlisted for the 2022 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation and will compete by pitching their ideas for a chance to win a grand cash prize of £25,000 (roughly UGX120 million).
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation awards crucial commercialization support to African innovators who are tackling local challenges with scalable engineering solutions. 2022 shortlist includes the Prize’s first Togolese and Congolese innovators. For the first time, half of the 16 shortlisted are women, including the first woman from Ethiopia to be shortlisted for the Prize.
The program will be offered as a digital experience, with intensive support provided through one-on-one and group sessions. Where possible, sessions may also be held in person. Following this period of support, four finalists will be selected and invited to pitch their innovations to a panel of selected judges and a live audience. The grand winner will receive £25,000, and the runners-up will receive £10,000 each. An additional One-to-Watch award of £5,000 will go to the most promising innovator, as selected by the live audience.
Meanwhile, the shortlisted innovators will receive comprehensive & tailored business training, media & communications training, and bespoke mentoring. The program will also provide funding and access to the Academy’s global network of high-profile, experienced engineers and business experts, as well as access to the alumni network when the program concludes.
Among the 16 shortlists include two Ugandans; Dr. Julius Mubiru, and Philip Kyeswa. Dr. Mubiru has invented a device he called; A-Lite Vein Locator, that maps patients’ veins out as shadows on their skin, helping medical staff insert a drip or draw blood more easily. On the other hand, Kyeswa has created Peec REM, a remote monitoring and metering system for off-grid solar installations which also alerts utilities to blackouts or tampering.
A-Lite Vein Locator
The A-Lite Vein locator was invented to address the difficulty medical workers in Uganda face in Inserting cannulas on children, especially those with darker skin color.
To develop it, Dr. Mubiru and his team looked at the red blood cells in human blood containing a form of Haemoglobin called deoxyhemoglobin (hemoglobin without oxygen). This absorbs red light, while human skin reflects it. So when a red light is passed over a child’s skin, it reflects everywhere except where there are veins because the deoxyhemoglobin under the skin is absorbing it. This casts a shadow of lines on the skin, visibly mapping out the network of veins.
“No one likes the needles, vein visibility is not just an issue of comfort. We would like to see far more of what is called first-needle successes, where the vein is found on the first try, saving medical staff time, sparing children unnecessary trauma, and getting medicine to those who need it as quickly as possible,” explained Dr. Mubiru.
A-Lite Vein Locator is yet to go under clinical trials to confirm efficacy and safety and measure its impact in a medical setting.
Peec REM
This remote device transmits real-time data and in the case of emergencies, a utility operator such as UMEME is able to respond immediately to blackouts or tampering. Meters are sold to mini-grid developers and operators who need to connect households to their installations and sell electricity to consumers in a secure and reliable way.
Peec REM is then maintained by Kyeswa and his team on a monthly subscription model. The system has been tested by 23 mini-grid operators around Uganda, and the team is currently preparing to scale up its presence on the market.
Kyeswa said, “We have the potential to impact millions of people living in off-grid areas by making mini-grid installations more practical and locally appropriate. There is so much room for growth and local adaptations in East Africa to really make the most of new technologies and bring power to more households.”
The 14 other innovators include;
- Afomia Andualem (Ethiopia) — Agelgil; a sustainable range of packaging and tableware made from agricultural by-products such as barley and wheat straw.
- Lawrencia Kwansah (Ghana) —Aquaponics Hub, a kit for new users to set up their own aquaponics system, complete with smart sensors to monitor crops and fish, and an online marketplace to sell produce.
- Juveline Ngum (Cameroon) — Bleaglee, a sustainable cooking system that includes a smokeless cookstove made from recycled metal scraps, bio-briquettes, and an off-grid bio-digester.
- Adekoyejo Kuye (Nigeria) — Coldbox Store, an off-grid cold storage solution for farmers to store and sell fresh produce without relying on the electrical grid.
- Virtue Oboro (Nigeria) — Crib A’Glow, a foldable photo-therapy cribs that treat jaundice in newborns. The crib can operate on solar or grid power and monitor the baby’s condition.
- Catherine Wanjoya (Kenya) — Genesis Care, a system to dispense and later dispose of feminine hygiene products. The system is installed to give young girls access to affordable products.
- Mariam Eluma (Nigeria) — HoBeei, an online free-cycle platform where users can upload unwanted or unused items in exchange for virtual currency with which to purchase other goods.
- Dr. Jack Fletcher (South Africa) — Hyena Power Pod, a fuel-cell-based hydrogen generator that converts LPG gas into usable electricity, all within one device.
- Divin Kouebatouka (The Republic of the Congo) — Kukua, a process that transforms the invasive water hyacinth plant into an absorptive fibre that can clean up oil spills and stop oil leaks on land or water.
- Oluwatobi Oyinlola (Nigeria) — SolarPocha, an outdoor workstation, a solar-powered space where students can connect to WiFi and off-grid electricity.
- Gael Matina Egbidi (Togo) — Solimi Prepaid Card, a prepaid, Visa-backed card that does not require users to bank with one specific bank, enabling the unbanked to make purchases online and cash out mobile money.
- Fabrice Teuche (Cameroon) — TelMi, a set of devices that help nurses monitor patients, respond to alarms, and collect data in order to improve workflow and response times.
- Femi Taiwo (Nigeria) — TeraWork, an online platform that connects users to freelancers, so small business owners can find and safely outsource key skills such as coding and accounting.
- Norah Magero (Kenya) — VacciBox, a portable, solar-powered fridge that safely stores temperature-sensitive medicine such as vaccines, to be used by travel clinics and for transport.
Launched by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014, the Africa Prize has a track record of identifying engineering entrepreneurs with significant potential, many of whom have gone on to achieve greater commercial success and social impact. An alumni network of more than 102 social entrepreneurs across Africa is projected to impact over three million lives in the next five years. They have already created more than 1,500 jobs and raised more than USD$14 million (UGX49,448,868,000) in grants and equity.
