Geraldine Gloria Kyazze for her innovative healthtech startup, MyMedikoz has received an award at the Presidential African Youth in AI & Robotics Competition 2025 after securing third place in the Presidential Award category, the competition’s most prestigious honour, awarded to groundbreaking, transformational initiatives that contribute towards inclusive and sustainable progress across Africa. This honour recognizes visionary innovations that create a lasting impact, shaping a future of resilience, equity, and prosperity for the continent.
The competition is a continent-wide contest run in collaboration between the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) through the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies and Ele-vate AI Africa. This year’s edition was hosted in partnership with the government of the Republic of South Africa through the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC).
Now in its second edition, the competition has billed itself as a pan-African accelerator for youth-led AI and robotics solutions addressing local priorities in health, agriculture, education, climate, mining, and governance.
Open to individuals and teams (typically between the ages of 15–35), the 2025 competition attracted 3,257 applications, which were screened, and from the pool, the judges shortlisted 36 finalists before selecting winners in each of the 12 categories, The Presidential Award category inclusive where Geraldine Gloria Kyazze from Uganda emerged as the third winner with Dr. Edward Khomotso Nkadimeng from South Africa and Dr. Champion Lumamba from Zambia coming in 1st and 2nd places respectively.
Hello from the beautiful city of Cape Town! At the G20 AI for Africa Conference 🌍✨
Today marks a historic moment, the Top 3 Presidential Awards Ceremony of the Presidential African Youth in Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Competition 2025. 🎉🤖
Out of 3,257 submissions… pic.twitter.com/S9RE5kFhme
— Ele-Vate AI (@Ele_VateAI) September 30, 2025
“To emerge as a top 3 finalist in such a prestigious and highly competitive program is both empowering and humbling. It has led me to reflect with gratitude on the baby steps that eventually turn into strong strides in innovation,” Kyazze told PC Tech Magazine.
She added, “This recognition affirms that all the hard work and challenges my team and I have faced and continue to face are not in vain. More importantly, it reinforces the mission we are pursuing and the change we hope to create across Africa.”
Kyazze urged fellow innovators to continue pushing boundaries.
The awards gala which was part of a G20 Side event was graced by H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa; H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission; and H.E. Madam Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD.
Launched in October 2024, MyMedikoz is a mobile personal health records system designed to integrate patients’ medical information from a patchwork of disconnected clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and diagnostic centres, ensuring that patients can access their medical history records unified in a single, easily accessible digital profile.
MyMedikoz is designed with a patient-first approach, ensuring that individuals have control over their health data while enabling seamless collaboration with healthcare providers. The platform’s AI-driven insights help users understand their health trends, flag potential risks, and receive personalized recommendations based on their medical history.
For communities that still rely heavily on paper records and fragmented digital pockets, tools such as MyMedikoz promise a tangible improvement: reduced duplication, faster diagnosis, and a patient-centred approach to data control. As Kyazze’s message is simple and practical, Africa’s artificial intelligence (AI) future will be built not only by grand visions, but by modest, people-centred inventions that solve real problems, one patient at a time.
The African Youth in AI & Robotics Competition is framed as more than a trophy hunt. AUDA-NEPAD and its partners have positioned it as a bridge connecting African youth innovators with investors, policy makers, mentors, and deployment partners who can help move ideas from prototype to pilot to scale.
The competition’s entry rules also made clear that participants retain ownership of their intellectual property, though organisers may use project details for promotion; finalists and winners are expected to gain visibility that can be converted into partnerships and funding opportunities.
As Africa accelerates towards a globally competitive, technology-driven economy, this initiative fosters cutting-edge research, skills development, and commercial pathways for AI-powered solutions that address local and global challenges. More than a competition, it catalyzes industrialization, job creation, and digital transformation, aligning with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to position African talent as global leaders in AI and robotics.
By bridging the skills gap, enhancing research capabilities, and shaping progressive policies, the initiative ensures that Africa is not just adopting technology but creating, governing, and scaling it.
