Four finalists named for 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Four entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa and Niger have reached the final of the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. They will pitch in Johannesburg on 28 October for a £50,000 top prize, with the event spotlighting engineering solutions in health care, sanitation and water recovery.

Why it matters: - The Africa Prize is the continent’s largest award focused on engineering innovation and impactful entrepreneurship. - The 2026 finalists are building tools aimed at urgent local needs, including dialysis access, cardiac screening, medical monitoring and nutrient recovery. - The final in Johannesburg will decide who receives the £50,000 prize and which finalist takes the three £10,000 runner-up awards.

What happened: - Four entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa and Niger were selected as finalists for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. - The final will take place on 28 October in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will be hosted by former professional rugby player Bryan Habana. - Rebecca Enonchong, chair of the judging panel, said the shortlist shows the depth of engineering talent across the continent.

The details: - Mamane Kabirou Ousseini of Niger founded Likita Care, an integrated medical monitoring platform for patient, cardiac and prenatal monitoring. - Likita Care combines connected hardware, clinical software and local digital fabrication, including a cardiograph, cardiotocograph and temporal thermometer. - The platform tracks 12 vital-sign indicators across adults, neonates and foetuses and can monitor 10 to 20 patients at once through a central dashboard. - The system includes an AI module that interprets vital signs in real time. - Likita Care devices are produced in Niger using 3D printing, CNC cutting and electronics assembly. - The team has validated and clinically tested the system with more than 100 patients and over 4,000 data points. - More than 70 monitoring units have been produced and deployed in Niger. - Five medical centres are using the technology, and hospitals have reported repeat orders and 24-hour on-site fixes when needed. - Dyllon Randall of South Africa co-founded Pee-Cycling, a modular urine-to-fertiliser recovery system. - Pee-Cycling collects urine through waterless urinals or no-mix toilets, stabilises it, and uses pretreatment and reverse osmosis to produce concentrated liquid fertiliser and reusable water. - A full-scale unit occupies about 12 to 15 square metres and can process up to 3,000 litres of urine per day. - Every 1,000 litres processed saves about 2,000 litres of potable water. - The plant at Cape Town Stadium is fully operational, and Pee-Cycling has signed Bidvest Prestige as its first commercial client for operation and maintenance. - The project collected 3,600 litres of urine during the South Africa vs New Zealand rugby game. - The City of Cape Town has included the project in its stadium tender for three years. - Pee-Cycling also won first place at the FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge 2026, organised by GreenCape. - Kenyan finalist Naom Monari created Renal Roads, a mobile dialysis clinic designed for rural and hard-to-reach communities. - Renal Roads is built inside a repurposed 40-foot shipping container mounted on a trailer and operates from local government health facilities on a fixed weekly schedule. - The unit has four secured dialysis machines, reclining chairs, an emergency area, reverse osmosis water treatment, integrated plumbing, controlled drainage, solar power and backup systems. - Renal Roads visits three communities each week on average and can provide up to 400 dialysis sessions per month. - Treatment is reimbursed through Kenya’s national health insurance. - Since being shortlisted, Renal Roads has partnered with Nipro Medical to improve access to dialysis in Kenya and received funding from the World Diabetes Foundation to expand mobile dialysis access. - Kenyan doctor and entrepreneur Alice Muhuhu developed MoyoECG, a portable cardiac monitoring platform for frontline health workers. - MoyoECG combines a wearable, wireless multi-lead ECG with embedded AI to identify more than 50 cardiac conditions and abnormalities. - The platform can detect atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, ventricular arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities and signs associated with cardiac ischemia. - Early pilots cut ECG interpretation time from about 30 minutes to under five minutes, including in settings with unreliable internet connectivity. - MoyoECG won Qualcomm’s Make in Africa award and has received support or recognition from the University of Oxford, Novartis, the Global Fund, Standard Chartered Bank and the Kenya Cardiac Society. - Since 2014, the Africa Prize has supported more than 180 businesses from 24 countries. - Alumni have secured more than $34 million in third-party grants and equity funding, and 85% are generating revenue. - The Africa Prize Final is supported by Anglo American and will be held at NH Johannesburg Sandton. - Lisa Weedon, Acting High Commissioner for the United Kingdom to South Africa, will address the event. - The remaining shortlisted innovators will also compete for the £5,000 One-to-Watch Award, decided by audience vote. - The event will be open to in-person and online attendees, with registration information available through the Royal Academy of Engineering website.

Between the lines: - The finalist list points to a strong focus on practical engineering for health care and infrastructure challenges. - Several projects have already moved beyond prototypes into pilots, commercial deals or public-sector use, which suggests the prize is acting as a launchpad rather than just a recognition platform. - The mix of local manufacturing, digital tools and lower-resource deployment models reflects a push to build solutions that can scale in the same markets they serve.

What's next: - The four finalists will pitch on 28 October in Johannesburg. - One finalist will win £50,000, and the other three will each receive £10,000. - The other shortlisted innovators will compete for the £5,000 One-to-Watch Award. - The winner and prize outcomes will likely help determine which solutions are best positioned for wider adoption and expansion.