Gabi

Africa Prize for Engineering innovation Year 6 shortlist profiles (2019/2020) Link to published article: https://www.raeng.org.uk/global/sustainable-development/africaprize/current-and-recent-awardees/2020 Innovator: Adrian Padt Innovation: DryMac Country: South Africa DryMac is a containerised drying system that uses biomass to dry crops without using electricity. Biomass waste products, like maize stalks, grass or wood chunks, are burnt to create heat and gas. The drier has ducts, which control airflow to and from the furnace. This ensures that heat is distributed evenly throughout the drier, so that the product – which is fed through the container on rollers – is dried uniformly. The drier replaces traditional methods of crop preservation like refrigeration and dehydration, both of which use large amounts of energy. Before developing DryMac, mechanical engineer Adrian Padt had designed and sold more than 120,000 natural draft stoves across Africa. After massive post-harvest losses in Malawi due to frequent power outages, a local organisation asked Padt to develop something that would dry agricultural produce using the same concept. A DryMac installation in Malawi is being used to dry groundnuts and tobacco, while two South African DryMacs are being used on rosehip to extract oil to make cosmetics and skincare products. Padt is also adapting DryMac to dry macadamia nuts in South Africa. Padt hopes to expand to various African countries, specifically those where electricity is limited or unreliable, and climate conditions are unpredictable. Pull quote: “DryMac is perfect for drying and preserving large quantities of agricultural and other produce in areas where there is little or no electricity. No fossil fuels are needed, it combats waste, and there are very little harmful emissions.” Innovator: Aisha Raheem Innovation: Farmz2U Country: Nigeria Farmz2U is a digital platform that prevents food waste by helping farmers plan their crops. Farmers tell the application how much land they have, what crops they want to grow, what their budget is, and even their target profit. Farmz2U calculates how many seedlings the farmer should get, what fertiliser and pesticides to use, and provides training guides and videos for certain crops. Farmers can also find out where there is demand for their product, track orders and invoices, and find storage locations. Farmz2U even allows users to access financing, insurance, and receive weather reports and warnings. Strategy consultant Aisha Raheem developed Farmz2U after a health scare prompted her to eat more healthily, which in turn exposed her to the challenges faced by the food industry. She became determined to reduce food waste and improve the nutritional intake of other people. Farmz2U is already being tested by two commercial farmers, and Raheem and her team are using their feedback to improve the platform. Raheem has also partnered with the Nigerian ministry of agriculture’s farmer support programme to access their network of smallholder farmers. The next Farmz2U app will include a nutrition management platform for health-conscious consumers, who can create meal plans and shopping lists. Users will be able to buy fresh produce directly from farmers who are registered on the Farmz2U farm management platform, creating additional markets for local farmers. Pull quote: “Farmz2U is the planning tool that no farmer should be without, from pre-planting to market. By giving farmers information and creating new networks, we plan to help farmers improve the nutritional value of Nigerian crops, and reduce food waste, while increasing their revenue.” Innovator: Bernice Dapaah Innovation: EcoRide Country: Ghana EcoRide are bicycles made from naturally occurring bamboo, sisal fibre and other sustainable parts. Marketing specialist Bernice Dapaah recalls how she often had to stop to fix her bicycle on the way to school from her grandfather’s house, on the outskirts of Kumasi in Ghana. Dapaah wanted to help her community and was inspired to make the bicycles after seeing bamboo products online. Bamboo is harvested, treated to remove its sugar content and air dried before the best pieces are selected and cut to size. These are glued and wrapped with epoxy and sisal fibres before the frame is sanded down, sprayed and fully assembled. Wheels, gears, brakes and handlebars are mostly second hand parts, refurbished by the EcoRide team. EcoRide plants ten bamboo trees for each one they harvest. Dapaah started out using cassava paste for the joints, but her first bicycle fell apart when she rode it. With the help of engineers, she improved the design, and now produces reliable road and mountain bicycles. Since then she has trained more than 60 young men and women, and employs 25 full time staff. Her goal is to employ 200 people in her community and she has become an activist for bicycle lanes on new Ghanaian roads. The EcoRide bicycles are currently 75% bamboo, and Dapaah is looking for ways to increase that percentage. She is also working on a wheelchair design. EcoRide bicycles, which sell for $200 to $400, are currently sold in Ghana and internationally, with some bulk purchases made by non-profit organisations for Ghanaian school children. Pull quote: “Reducing carbon emissions can become a reality with bicycles made from sustainably farmed bamboo, while creating jobs for women and youths in rural communities.” Innovator: Charlette N’Guessan Innovation: BACE API Country: Ghana BACE API uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence to verify identities remotely. The software can be integrated into existing apps and systems and is aimed at financial institutions and other industries that rely on identity verification when providing services. While facial recognition software isn’t new, BACE API can use live images or short, five-second videos taken on phone cameras to detect whether the image is of a real person, or a photo of an existing image. It then matches the picture or short video to either a pre-saved reference photo, or the person’s government-issued identity documents. The process is quick, secure and efficient. Tech entrepreneur Charlette N’Guessan and her cofounders developed the software after research they did during their studies revealed that Ghana’s banks have a significant problem with identity fraud and cyber-crime. The research estimated that approximately $400 million is spent annually by Ghanaian financial institutions to identify their customers. The BACE API software uses a phone or computer’s built-in camera and does not need special hardware. Existing verification methods include memorising passwords, two-step verification systems (where a one-time pin is sent to a user), and biometric or DNA identification. In partnership with a government service provider, BACE API has access to Ghanaian passports and identity documents to use during its verification processes. The software is already being used by a local farmer investment organisation to verify their customers’ identification before paying them. N’Guessan also hopes to partner with universities to create a database that helps students who don’t have government issued identification, to access financial services. Pull quote: “Cutting edge identity verification technology doesn’t always require costly hardware. BACE API is a quick and secure solution for identity fraud that only requires access to a mobile phone camera.” Innovator: Isaac Sesi Innovation: GrainMate Country: Ghana GrainMate is a simple, handheld meter which accurately measures the moisture content of grains to prevent post-harvest losses. The easy-to-use aluminium probe is simply inserted into a bag of grain. The tip of the probe contains temperature and humidity sensors, which take an average reading of the whole bag to provide a moisture reading. The reading is then displayed on a detachable handheld unit after two to three minutes. Smallholder farmers in Ghana lose up to 30% of their grain due to incorrect moisture levels. This moisture can cause mould, attract insects, and reduce the grain quality, all of which lead to loss of revenue. Most smallholder farmers can’t afford the expensive moisture meters on the market, and resort to crude testing methods, such as biting the grain or throwing it against the wall to see if it sticks. Many farmers sell their grain straight after harvest because they worry that it will spoil if they store it. Sesi believes that with GrainMate, farmers will be able to monitor moisture levels more accurately, so they can store grain until later in the season when demand is higher, doubling their income. The GrainMate can also be used by poultry farmers to test grain-based poultry feed before purchase, ensuring poultry are healthy and lay high quality eggs. Sesi, an electrical engineer, developed GrainMate after he was invited to lead a research project into grain moisture meters. GrainMate can currently test sorghum, millet, hard and soft wheat, chickpeas, corn, rice, soybean and groundnuts. The handheld display, which only has three buttons, was designed to be intuitive to farmers with little education and low literacy levels. Around 800 farmers are already using 300 GrainMates, and Sesi is developing a Bluetooth-enabled model to link to a smartphone to provide data analysis to commercial farmers and warehouses. Pull quote: “There’s no reason to watch farmers lose crops they worked hard for just because a simple technology is unaffordable to them. GrainMate can double smallholder grain farmers’ income, preventing post-harvest losses due to incorrect grain moisture levels.” Innovator: Jack Oyugi Innovation: Aquaprotein Country: Kenya Aquaprotein is protein-rich animal food made from invasive water hyacinth harvested from Lake Victoria. The water hyacinth is steam boiled, dried, crushed and fermented to make a protein-rich powder, which is then mixed with minerals and energy-rich materials like maize bran to make an affordable animal feed for poultry, dairy and fish farmers. Biotechnologist Jack Oyugi came up with the idea when, as a dairy farm manager, he faced high animal feed costs and low milk production first-hand. Oyugi began harvesting and testing water hyacinth after he saw animals eating parts of the invasive plant on the shores of Lake Victoria. Water hyacinth only has 14% protein, but Oyugi’s patented fermentation process uses a local fungus to increase the protein levels to 50%. His process also removes contaminants from the plant and softens the fibrous lignose that makes it tough to chew. In a pilot study, Kenyan farmers saw a 20% increase in milk production, and 30% decrease in feed costs. Countries surrounding Lake Victoria have been plagued by the fast-growing, impenetrable plant. It prevents fish from breeding, blocks tunnels, which leads to flooding, and clogs municipal water intakes, limiting communities’ access to water. It also curbs tourism by preventing boat rides and fishing. Oyugi removes the plant from the lake, and plans to expand his operations to other African countries plagued by water hyacinth, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. The by-products produced in the process of making the feed are sold as fertilisers and soil conditioners. Pull quote: “Nothing in the natural world is unusable – not even pests like the water hyacinth. Turning this invasive plant into animal feed saves farmers money, improves the quality of their products, and solves an environmental problem, all at the same time.” Innovator: Josephine Godwyll Innovation: Lab and Library on Wheels Country: Ghana Lab and Library on wheels is a mobile, solar-hybrid cart with gadgets and e-learning resources for underresourced schools. Geo-spatial engineer Josephine Godwyll came up with the idea when, as a student, she taught at a rural school during an outreach programme. Her students did not have access to library books or laboratories, and had to rely on theoretical lessons only. Her unit contains laptops, tablets and practical teaching and learning materials, customised to suit the size of the school. Each device is preloaded with the Ananse The Teacher e-learning app, which uses interactive games and local folklore to encourage reading, as well as science, technology, engineering, art and maths (STEAM) content. The practical kits also contain readily-available household materials to use in STEAM-related hands-on activities. Fixed libraries and laboratories cost up to $25,000 to build, and cater for a limited number of students in Ghana. Many schools are unable to afford these, and operate without regular power supply. Lab and Library on Wheels eliminates the need for fixed libraries and laboratories, as the $6,500 handcart with e-resources and kits can be pushed from one classroom to the next. Schools that are unable to pay upfront can arrange a payment plan. Godwyll’s team installs a solar panel on the roof of each school, and energy from the panel is stored in a battery and used to charge all devices. She is updating the cart to include a built-in battery and solar panels so that the cart can be used in places that are even more remote. Five hundred children at three Ghanaian schools are already using Godwyll’s technology. After only four practical lessons, 72% of students scored above average in evaluation tests, and after six months of using the Lab and Library on Wheels, the students average test scores increased by 21%. Pull quote: “Quality education should not be out of any child’s reach anymore. We put technology on wheels to transform any room into a library and STEAM laboratory.” Innovator: Justine Abuga Innovation: Solar Jiko Country: Kenya Solar Jiko is a heat storage system that allows rural schools to cook food quickly and easily without firewood. The system consists of nine-metre-long pipes arranged to absorb the maximum amount of heat from the sun. The pipes use a patented form of thermosiphon – a form of heat exchange that negates the need for mechanical pumps. Recycled car oil is heated inside the pipes, and stored in insulated tanks that heat the cook stoves. A series of valves control the flow of oil, ensuring minimal heat loss, and the system can even be used on cold days. Justine Abuga, a renewable energy engineer, has already secured contracts to install Solar Jiko at 27 Kenyan schools, which should cut their cooking costs by $10,000 per year. Firewood is expensive and rural Kenyan schools often run out when heavy rains make roads impassable. Most schools don’t have storage facilities for the wood, and their cooks suffer from excessive smoke inhalation when working with wet wood. To make matters worse, traditional foods like maize and beans require a lot of energy to cook. Abuga’s stoves are fitted with sensors that warn cooks of any leakages, and display energy use and emission levels. The data will also be used to improve future versions of the stove. Abuga hopes to eventually install the stoves at 250,000 rural and peri-urban schools in Kenya, which currently use 240 million tonnes of firewood per year to cook meals. Pull quote: “Solar Jiko can change the lives of rural school children, whose tuition money can now go towards their education instead of buying firewood for cooking.” Innovator: Richard Arwa Innovation: CIST Ethanol Fuel Country: Kenya CIST Ethanol Fuel is a clean cooking ethanol made from invasive water hyacinth. While ethanol is traditionally made by adding yeast to products like sorghum, barley and sugar cane, CIST Ethanol Fuel uses water hyacinth, a plant found in abundance in Lake Victoria. Chemist and high school teacher Richard Arwa started producing ethanol with two high school students for a science and engineering fair. Later, another competition encouraged Arwa to commercialise the product, prompting him to scale his production significantly from the single litre he was able to produce at a time at the high school laboratory. Unlike other materials used to produce ethanol, water hyacinth contains strong cellulose bonds. Arwa manufactured an enzyme which breaks these bonds through fermentation, which takes place once the hyacinth has been cleaned and shredded. Laboratory tests found that CIST Ethanol has a low sulphur content and releases minimal emissions when burnt, making it safe for cooking. Kenyans living in rural areas and informal settlements mostly use firewood, kerosene and wick stoves to cook, all of which are costly, pose fire hazards, and have severe health and environmental implications. CIST Ethanol is nearly 40% cheaper than kerosene, and sold to entrepreneurs in refugee camps, where they resell it to make an income. Arwa has built his own equipment to separate and distil the ethanol after finding that commercially available equipment, which produces 2,000 litres of ethanol per day, is unaffordable. He plans to manufacture and sell the equipment to other small businesses. Arwa is exploring ways of using the solid and gas by-products created by the process, to ensure that he runs a zero-waste operation. Pull quote: “There is no need for our communities to risk their lives to cook, when there is a clean, safe and affordable alternative. Communities reliant on Lake Victoria for their livelihoods will also benefit from the removal of water hyacinth from the water.” Innovator: Victor Boyle-Komolafe Innovation: Garbage In, Value Out (GIVO) Country: Nigeria Garbage In, Value Out (GIVO) is a system which automates and digitises the collection, processing and sale of recyclable materials. Chartered accountant Victor Boyle-Komolafe helped develop GIVO after he was inspired at a workshop, which discussed the waste problem in Nigeria. Fifteen billion units of PET plastic enter Nigeria annually, with less than 10% of them being recycled. The other 90% goes to landfill or into waterways. GIVO is used by communities, governments or waste management entrepreneurs who want to host a waste collection centre in a particular area. Once registered as a GIVO collection point, waste collectors bring the plastic they have collected to that centre, where they have a profile on the GIVO app. The app tracks how much they have collected, what it’s worth, and when they last dropped off plastic. Sorters divide the plastic by type and colour before the plastic bottles are weighed and fed into a shredder. Sensors record the weight of the plastic, avoiding human error, and send it to the GIVO app via Bluetooth. The waste collectors are paid according to the weight of plastic they brought in. The franchisee can sell the clean, processed and sorted plastic for seven times the amount they bought it for, and that plastic is then recycled into new products. The GIVO platform tracks each stage of the recycling process. Buyers can see how much stock is available at each waste collection centre in the country, drivers can log the number of bags they are transporting, and payments can be made and tracked. Individuals and businesses can also use the app to request that their plastic waste be collected. GIVO has a prototype in Nairobi, Kenya, but plans to run a pilot project in Nigeria at the end of 2019, before rolling the technology out to communities across Nigeria. Pull quote: “GIVO aims to increase and organise recycling in Nigeria and other African countries, while creating job opportunities at the same time.”