It is no longer news that Africa is slowly improving its technology to compete with that of Western nations. With several organizations mobilizing and supporting African innovators through awards and post prize activities, Africa is set to liberate itself from oppressive dominance of globalization.
Today, we’ve chosen to look at 5 interesting problem-solving inventions that are worthy of recognition from Africa:
MamaOpe Smart Jacket: Invented by Ugandan Engineer – Brian Turyabagye, MamaOpe is a biomedical smart jacket used in diagnosing pneumonia by measuring a sick child’s temperature and breathing rate. Inspired by the loss of a business partner’s grandmother to pneumonia, Brian launched the jacket in 2016 which earned him a nomination for the prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize 2017.
Voice Recognition and Speech Synthesis Software: Imagine Siri speaking in Yoruba! That’s exactly the digital revolution Omolabake Adenle’s startup, AJA.LA studios are offering Africans who don’t speak English or those who’ll prefer to absorb content in their local dialects. Developed for various Western and Asian languages, this software allows Africans to interact with a wide range of devices and third-party software applications in their local languages.
Tress: Inspired by the difficulty associated with getting accurate information about hairstyles, three African software entrepreneurs who are passionate about using technology to improve lives, Esther Olatunde, Priscilla Hazel and Cassandra Sarfo invented Tress, a mobile app for hair inspiration and information.
Sweat TB Test: Regarded as the 4th leading cause of death in Africa, Tuberculosis constitutes a major health problem for over 60% of Africans. Nigerian Doctor and Innovator, Olanisun Olufemi Adewole developed a rapid diagnostic TB test to detect tuberculosis in the sweat of patients within 10 minutes and without needle pricks. This invention earned him a nomination at the Innovation Prize for Africa which held in July 2017.
Cardio Pad: Africa’s first medical tablet, Cardio Pad invented by 26 -year -old Cameroonian, Arthur Zang allows healthcare workers in rural areas to perform cardiac tests and send results to specialists via mobile phone connection. Arthur’s invention was awarded the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering at a ceremony in the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.
It’s a great thing that Africans are moving away from dependency on Western innovations and creating their own wealth of technologies to benefit different aspects of life. We expect so much more from African innovators in 2018 and we hope to break boundaries in the same as the Nigerian entertainment industry