Four finalists vie for engineering innovation prize

The Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom has named four finalists from Kenya, South Africa, and Niger for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, awarding the winner £50,000. Selected from 16 shortlisted candidates, these innovators tackle healthcare and agricultural challenges across Africa, reflecting the prize’s focus on scalable engineering solutions.

The winner will be announced at the final in Johannesburg on October 28, 2026. Kenya has two finalists: Alice Muhuhu and Naom Monari. Their selection highlights efforts to address gaps in healthcare infrastructure. They were selected for their innovative solutions to pressing health challenges.

Alice Muhuhu’s platform, MoyoECG, uses artificial intelligence to support portable electrocardiogram testing. This technology aims to help healthcare providers conduct heart examinations beyond traditional hospital settings, making it more accessible to patients.

Naom Monari’s project, Renal Roads, is a mobile dialysis clinic designed to bring kidney treatment closer to underserved communities. A mobile model could reduce the travel burden for patients who live far from established dialysis centres, improving their overall quality of life.

The other finalists are Mamane Kabirou Ousseini of Niger, whose platform, Likita Care, focuses on medical monitoring, and South Africa’s Dyllon Randall, whose system, Pee-Cycling, recovers nutrients from urine for use in fertiliser. These projects demonstrate the diversity of innovative solutions being developed in Africa.

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation recognises engineering solutions with the potential to address local challenges and scale into commercially viable businesses. The £50,000 top prize provides a significant financial incentive for the winner to advance development and deployment of their project.

The four projects illustrate the range of challenges being tackled by African innovators, from delivering critical medical services to improving how resources are recovered and reused. The Johannesburg final on October 28 will determine which of the four innovators takes the top award.