Four innovators from Kenya, South Africa and Niger have been selected as finalists for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, with the winner set to receive £50,000 as engineers develop solutions to healthcare access, medical monitoring and agricultural sustainability challenges across the continent.
The finalists were selected from a shortlist of 16 by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom. The other three finalists will each receive £10,000, while the remaining shortlisted innovators will compete for a £5,000 One-to-Watch Award.
The winner will be announced at the final in Johannesburg on October 28, 2026.
Kenya has two finalists: Alice Muhuhu, whose MoyoECG platform uses artificial intelligence to support portable electrocardiogram testing, and Naom Monari, founder of Renal Roads, a mobile dialysis clinic designed to bring kidney treatment closer to underserved communities.
Their selection highlights efforts to address gaps in healthcare infrastructure, where access to specialist equipment and treatment remains constrained by cost, distance and shortages of medical facilities.
Muhuhu’s MoyoECG is designed to make cardiac assessment more accessible through a portable ECG platform supported by artificial intelligence. The technology aims to help healthcare providers conduct heart examinations beyond traditional hospital settings, potentially supporting earlier identification of cardiac problems.
Monari’s Renal Roads takes a different approach, bringing dialysis services directly to patients through a mobile clinic. Dialysis is essential for people whose kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste and excess fluid from the blood, but treatment can require frequent visits to specialised facilities. A mobile model could reduce the travel burden for patients who live far from established dialysis centres.
The other finalists are Mamane Kabirou Ousseini of Niger, whose Likita Care platform focuses on medical monitoring, and South Africa’s Dyllon Randall, whose Pee-Cycling system recovers nutrients from urine for use in fertiliser.
Likita Care targets medical monitoring, while Pee-Cycling addresses the recovery of valuable nutrients from human waste, connecting engineering innovation with more sustainable agricultural production.
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 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, run by the Royal Academy of Engineering, recognises engineering solutions with the potential to address local challenges and scale into commercially viable businesses. Its finalists receive support intended to help them develop their innovations, strengthen their business models and expand their reach.
The £50,000 top prize provides a significant financial incentive for the winner to advance development and deployment, while the awards for the other finalists offer additional support as they seek to bring their technologies to more users.
The Johannesburg final on October 28 will determine which of the four innovators takes the top award.