Kenyan wins biggest engineering prize in Africa
Kenyan Esther Kimani has won the 2024 Africa’s biggest engineering prize of £50,000 for an outstanding innovation that helps farmers manage crop pests.
The prize is organized by the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK.
Two Kenyan startups had made the final list of four contesting for the top prize after beating about 150 entries from 23 countries.
Kimani’s Farmer Lifeline Technology and Eco Tiles founded by Kevin Maina were competing against La Ruche Health from Ivory Coast and Yo-Waste from Uganda.
The prize ceremony was held in Nairobi on June 13, with this year’s being the largest ever amount awarded to a winner, in honour of the 10th Anniversary of the Prize.
Farmer Lifeline Technology has developed a device that helps farmers detect crop pests in real time and control them before the pests wreak havoc on crops.
The cash prize is meant to help the startup develop the device further.
Not a Winner Take It All
It wasn’t a winner take it all contest as the three runners up were each awarded £15,000 to develop their innovations.
Eco Tiles develops environmentally friendly roofing material made from recycled plastic. The tiles are stronger and lighter than clay or concrete tiles. The innovation is a dual solution to plastic pollution and high building costs.
La Ruche Health 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.
By May 2024, the AI has facilitated over 150,000 user interactions and 189 in-home and teleconsultation appointments, processing over $18,000 in medical billings, illustrating its effectiveness and scalability.
Yo-Waste, Martin Tumusiime addresses Uganda’s mounting waste crisis, via a location-based mobile application that connects homes and businesses to independent agents for efficient on-demand rubbish collection and disposal.
The 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, launched at the 2024 final, is now open for entries.