Sixteen engineering innovators from seven African countries including two Ugandan trailblazers, have been shortlisted for the 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, by the Royal Academy of Engineering, with applications received from a record 30 countries.
This year’s shortlist includes innovators from seven countries: Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Togo who will compete for a share of the £60,000 Africa Prize fund.
Their innovations include lifesaving postpartum care for mothers and babies in rural areas, upcycling and hybrid green energy solutions for farmers, smart agritech for food crops, fisheries and beekeepers, groundbreaking AI tools for the hearing impaired and for monitoring residential energy use, electricity-free cold storage for small scale farmers, and a clean cooking alternative fuel made from recycled plastic.
Ugandan shortlisted innovations and entrepreneurs are: Neo Nest, designed by Vivian Arinaitwe in Uganda. It is a neonatal warming and monitoring device that relays key health indicators of a newborn in real time to medical professionals to prevent neonatal deaths. The second is Autothermo, designed and created by Nura Izath in Uganda, an innovative bracelet-like device worn by newborns that monitors and transmits real-time data to carers such as temperature, fever and respiratory issues through an intuitive emoji system.
Launched in 2014, the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is the continent’s largest prize dedicated to fostering engineering innovation, with a mission to stimulate, celebrate, and reward innovation and entrepreneurship across sub-Saharan Africa.
Since its inception, the Prize has supported 149 businesses from 22 African countries with invaluable training, mentoring, and communication resources, employing over 28,000 people and benefitting more than 10 million people through the innovative products and services developed. It also boasts a thriving alumni network, with 71% of alumni generating revenue. Collectively, these alumni have secured $39 million in grants and equity funding.
The 16 shortlisted candidates for the 2025 Africa Prize, now in its 11th year, have each been selected for their innovative solutions designed to solve critical environmental, educational and health challenges to transform their communities.
Innovations from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda include life-saving maternal and neonatal devices allowing at-risk pregnant mothers and their babies to reach health facilities safely from remote areas, as well as transformative smart agritech, upcycling and hybrid green energy solutions, and groundbreaking AI tools to support greater inclusivity for the hearing impaired. Innovative materials such as new packaging technology inspired by human skin are used for electricity-free cold storage, clean cooking gas and furniture are made from waste plastic, and disposable plates from agricultural waste (maize husks).
Neo Hutiri, winner of the Africa Prize in 2019 and the Africa Prize Alumni Medal in 2024 with his innovation, Pelebox, said: “Being part of the Africa Prize was a game changer for me. Before the Prize, I struggled to get an audience with key decision-makers in the National Department of Health in South Africa. Just two weeks after the announcement, the media coverage opened doors, leading to a pivotal meeting with the Head of Access to Medicine. Today, Pelebox is in over 100 healthcare facilities across South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia—proof of the Prize’s lasting impact. I’m excited to see how this year’s shortlist will benefit from this incredible platform.”
Rebecca Enonchong, CEO of AppsTech and Africa Prize judge, said: “We are thrilled to see another round of 16 amazing innovators dedicating their lives to addressing important problems in their local communities through engineering. Their innovations showcase the power of local innovation, adapting existing technologies to create context-specific solutions that directly respond to the unique needs and challenges of their regions. This year, we have observed a trend in the themes chosen for their innovations – with a significant focus on neonatal healthcare, food security and upcycling. These all represent critical priorities within today’s innovation landscape. I am delighted to welcome these entrepreneurs to the Africa Prize community and look forward to following their journey as they develop their engineering solutions over the next few months.”
Once shortlisted for the Africa Prize, innovators will benefit from a comprehensive package of support designed to accelerate their businesses. This includes an eight-month training programme that covers key business skills, comprising financial management and market analysis to help the innovators turn their ideas into market-ready ideas. Involvement in the Prize also includes access to expert business, technical, and sector-specific engineering mentoring and connecting the shortlisted candidates to the Academy’s extensive network of engineers and business leaders across the UK and Africa.
Innovators are invited to submit a second application during their training programme, when the Prize’s panel of judges will select four finalists to move through to the final event, to be held in Senegal in October this year.
The winner of the Africa Prize will receive £25,000, with three runners-up awarded £10,000 each. The audience at the award ceremony will also vote on the winner of the ‘One-to-Watch’ award for the most impactful pitch, who will receive £5,000. All shortlisted candidates will become part of the Africa Prize Alumni of over 150 innovators, which offers access to exclusive opportunities for funding, development, and support.
Applications for Cycle 12 of the Africa Prize will open in early July and close in mid-September. The programme will use a two-stage application process for the first time to streamline the process for both applicants and reviewers. Applicants should apply within this initial period to have a chance of being considered for the 2026 shortlist.