By Joshua Isaac
Two Kenyan innovators, Esther Kimani and Kelvin Maina, are among the four finalists shortlisted for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation (APEI), scheduled for June in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
Together with Rory Assandey and Martin Tumusiime, they were selected from a group of 16 innovators in this year’s engineering award, showcasing their sustainable, scalable solution-based engineering innovations ranging from eco-friendly roofing and waste collection to Artificial Intelligence (AI-powered) healthcare and farming.
Notably, the innovations by the four directly address the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including zero hunger, good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, reduced inequalities, and climate action.
Maina’s eco-tiles, an environmentally friendly roofing material made from recycled plastic, aim to mitigate plastic pollution and the high cost of building. Kimani’s crop pest and disease control device, a solar-powered tool using AI, to detect and identify agricultural pests and diseases. The aim is to increase yield for small-scale farmers.
Yo-waste by Uganda’s Tumusiime aims to tackle the waste crisis by connecting homes and businesses to garbage collection and disposal agents. On the other hand, La Ruche Health by Cote d’Ivoire’s Assandey connects communities to vital health information and services via “Kiko”, an AI tool available in mobile applications such as WhatsApp.
One of the Africa prize judges Dr. John Lazar states that the Royal Academy of Engineering has supported almost 150 entrepreneurs across 23 African countries creating more than 28,000 jobs with more than 10 million benefiting from shortlisting over the past decade.
The decade-old award ceremony has invested £1 million and will see the four battle it out for the prize money of £50,000, double the previous year’s prize, while the other three bag £15,000. In addition, one of them will walk out with the title of ‘One to Watch’ as voted by the audience present. Next year’s Africa prize will be open for entries in two months.
