Hardware-led social innovation accelerator selected Kenyan, Ugandan Entrepreneurs
The regional winners of the 2022 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), a global accelerator of hardware-led social innovation, have been revealed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
In a virtual event held from June 14 to 22, the eight finalist social innovator teams from across Africa for the ISHOW presented their design prototypes. Three entrepreneurs emerged as regional winners and will split US $30,000 in seed grants and receive technical assistance to help them market their design innovations.
They were Kenya’s Totosci Holdings for its dependable, practical, cost-effective, locally made mobile phone USB chargers, Uganda’s MamaOpe, a non-invasive device designed to screen for respiratory diseases accurately and automatically in low resource settings, and Kenya’s Ubuntu Waterhub Africa, a solution for revenue collection at water points using both cellular and satellite IoT technology.
“Social enterprises, now more than ever, need the support of the global impact community,” said Iana Aranda, director of ASME’s Engineering Global Development sector that houses ISHOW.
“Social entrepreneurs around the world, including many ISHOW ventures, are on the frontlines of crisis response and the advancement of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. We are fiercely focused on providing these innovators with accessible platforms for capacity building, expert engagement and co-design of scaling strategies suited for today’s dynamic markets. Ensuring their success is of paramount importance.”
