PUBLIC EVENT
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Watch the 2024 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation livestream now.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. The Prize awards commercialisation support to African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges. These innovations show the importance of engineering in improving quality of life and economic development. This year marks 10 years of driving African innovation.
Ory Okolloh
Maina Chege - Host
Philip Thigo - Guest of Honour
Malcolm Brinded CBE FREng
Dr Ibilola Amao
Dr Ibilola Amao is the Principal Consultant of Lonadek Global Services. With over three decades of Engineering and Entrepreneurship experience in the Energy, Power, Infrastructure, Oil, Gas & Renewable sectors, Ibilola is focused on solving Sustainability, Energy Security and Resource Optimization problems through innovation using technology solutions. Lonadek leverages partnerships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and consortia efforts across Africa, Europe, USA, and the UAE to accelerate SMART goals. Ibilola is a committed change agent who invests her time in Human Capital Development Initiatives (HCDIs) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities. Through the activities of Lonadek, Ibilola has trained over 15,000 Engineers and empowered over 100,000 STEM Talent since 1991.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng
Sir John is a software engineer and entrepreneur with experience of building and managing successful global businesses. He is Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which aims to help young people realise their full potential through the power of computing and digital technologies. He is also co-founder, General Partner, and a Limited Partner at Enza Capital, which backs founders and teams using technology to solve large and meaningful problems across Africa. He sits on the boards of multiple African technology companies and previously served as the Chair of What3words. He was awarded a CBE for services to engineering in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2016 and was knighted for services to engineering and technology in the His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours List 2025. Sir John was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2011 and chaired the Academy’s Enterprise Committee, which supports startups and scaleups across the UK and globally through the Enterprise Hub. He has also been a member of the Academy’s Education and Skills Committee and played an active role in developing the programme of study for England’s school Computer Science curriculum. Sir John has also been a judge and mentor for the Academy’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, which trains and backs early-stage African engineering companies. He has spent many years working on tech-related non-profit initiatives in Africa, especially building “digital blacksmiths” and maker labs. He has been an active angel investor and technology start-up mentor in the UK and Africa, with more than 40 individual pre-seed/seed investments. He graduated from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar with an MSc in Computation and a DPhil in History, following an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Sir John was elected as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering at its 48th AGM in 2024.
Sheena Raikundalia - guest judge
Sewu-Steve Tawia
Over the last eight months, the Royal Academy of Engineering has provided 16 talented entrepreneurs from across Africa with training, mentoring, and support to turn their engineering innovations into scalable businesses that can transform the continent.
For the final event in their programme, you’re invited to join us in a night of celebration as the innovators pitch their work to our panel of expert judges. At the culmination of the night, three finalists will be awarded with £15,000 each, while judges select one winner to receive £50,000 to further their work. Plus, you’ll get the opportunity to vote for the pitch with the biggest impact – with the audience choice taking home a £5,000 ‘One-to-Watch’ award.
As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, take part in this landmark event to connect with the innovators, investors, and other distinguished guests including 80 alumni from a decade of the prize. Each is having a huge impact on their community with local solutions to local challenges; together, the network is transforming Africa.
The 2024 Africa Prize finalists are:
Rory Assandey, Côte d'Ivoire. Rory and his team developed La Ruche Health, which connects communities to vital health information, advice, and services through “Kiko”, an AI chatbot tool available on WhatsApp and mobile apps, and a digital backend solution to streamline documentation, billing, and data sharing for practitioners. Kiko serves as the patient’s initial point of contact, offering personalised screening and facilitating appointments with qualified healthcare professionals.
Esther Kimani, Kenya. Esther and her team developed Early Crop Pest and Disease Detection Device, a solar-powered tool utilising AI and machine learning-enabled cameras to swiftly detect and identify agricultural pests and diseases, reducing crop losses for smallholder farmers by up to 30% while increasing yields by as much as 40%. Esther's innovation not only provides real-time alerts within five seconds of an infestation, but also alerts government agricultural officers to the presence of diseases or pests, contributing to broader agricultural management efforts.
Kevin Maina, Kenya. Kevin and this team developed Eco Tiles, an environmentally friendly roofing material made from recycled plastic. Stronger and lighter than clay or concrete tiles, the innovation is a dual solution to plastic pollution and high building costs. They work with 500 informal waste collectors and have a production rate of 1,500 tiles daily, meaning each tile is pressed in a minute. Half a million Eco Tiles have been used to date in the construction of 348 houses.
Martin Tumusiime, Uganda. Martin and his team developed Yo-Waste to address Uganda's mounting waste crisis. Yo-Waste is a location-based mobile application that connects homes and businesses to independent agents for efficient on-demand rubbish collection and disposal. It has GPS location technology to pinpoint collection points, which overcomes the challenge of people not having official addresses in informal residential areas. Yo-Waste currently serves over 1,500 customers, with a goal to reach 20,000 users by 2026.
The shortlist for One to Watch are:
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