The Innovation Prize for Africa conference was held the Movenpick Hotel Accra on the 17th and 18th of July 2017. IPA is an initiative spear-headed by the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) whose purpose is to increase the prosperity of Africans by catalyzing the innovation spirit in Africa.
The conference was centered around the 10 finalists and their various innovations the areas of:
Environment, energy and water
Information, communication and technologies (ICTS)
Manufacturing and service industry
The goal of the IPA is to strengthen African innovation ecosystems through supporting a culture of innovation and competitiveness, whilst spurring growth of innovative, market-driven African solutions to African challenges and several workshops were been held (Zua Hub workshop, Women Innovation Workshop etc.) to help achieve this goal.
The winners and nominees were awarded with the following prizes and incentives:
Grand prize of US$100 000
Second Prize of US$25 000
Special Prize for Social Impact US$25 000
A voucher for each of the seven IPA nominees of US$5 000
The 1st place went to Professor Aly El-Shafei. He innovated a device which is versatile and can change its characteristics as it operates. This device is being designed to be used to support energy generating turbines and can be used to improve efficiency and reduce costs of generating energy in Africa.
The 2nd place went to Philippa Ngaju Makobore. She invented the Electronically Controlled Gravity Feed Infusion Set (ECGF). This device is designed to accurately administer intravenous (IV) fluids and drugs by controlling the rate of fluid flow based on the feedback from a drop sensor.
The 3rd place went to Dr. Dougbeh Christopher Nyan. He developed a rapid test that can detect and simultaneously differentiate at least three to seven infections at the same time within 10 to 40 minutes. This device is also able to detect and distinguish multiple infections which bear the same symptoms.
We found the conference very interesting, exploring and discovering the different innovations that are taking root in Africa and helping solving problems that will have an impact on the continent (and probably beyond).
