Four African engineering finalists named for 2026 prize

Four entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa and Niger have been named finalists for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The October 28 finale in Johannesburg will spotlight health care, clean-tech and sanitation solutions, with the winner to receive £50,000.

Why it matters: - The Africa Prize is a major pipeline for engineering startups tackling local problems across the continent. - The 2026 finalists are building products aimed at health care access, sanitation, water use and medical diagnostics. - The winner will receive £50,000, with three other finalists getting £10,000 each.

What happened: - Four finalists were selected for the 12th Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. - The program is run by the Royal Academy of Engineering and co-funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. - The finale will take place on October 28 in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will be hosted by former rugby player Bryan Habana. - Rebecca Enonchong, chair of the Africa Prize judging panel, said the shortlist reflects the diversity of engineering talent across the continent.

The details: - The 2026 finalists are Mamane Kabirou Ousseini of Niger, Dyllon Randall of South Africa, and Kenyan innovators Naom Monari and Alice Muhuhu. - Ousseini founded Likita Care, a locally made medical monitoring platform for cardiac and prenatal care. - Likita Care combines connected hardware, clinical software and local digital fabrication. - The platform includes an electrocardiograph, a cardiotocograph and a forehead thermometer. - The system tracks 12 vital signs in adults, newborns and fetuses. - Its software dashboard supports telemedicine, digital clinical protocols and simultaneous monitoring of 10 to 20 patients. - An integrated AI module interprets vital signs in real time. - The devices are produced in Niger using 3D printing, CNC cutting and electronics assembly. - After local validation and clinical trials with more than 100 patients and more than 4,000 data points, the team produced and deployed more than 70 monitoring units in Niger. - Five medical centers are actively using the technology. - The company is planning a factory in Niger and is exploring expansion into neighboring countries. - Randall co-founded Pee-Cycling, a modular system that collects urine and turns it into fertilizer. - Pee-Cycling uses waterless urinals or urine-diverting toilets, stabilizes the urine, then uses pretreatment and reverse osmosis to produce concentrated liquid fertilizer and reusable clean water. - A high-capacity unit covering about 12 to 15 square meters can process up to 3,000 liters of urine per day. - Every 1,000 liters treated saves about 2,000 liters of drinking water. - Since joining the Africa Prize 2026 program, Pee-Cycling has moved from pilot stage to real-world operation. - The installation at Cape Town Stadium is fully operational. - Pee-Cycling signed its first commercial customer, Bidvest Prestige, for operations and maintenance. - The project collected 3,600 liters of urine during a South Africa-New Zealand rugby match. - The system has been folded into Cape Town’s stadium tender process for three years. - Pee-Cycling also won the FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge 2026 run by GreenCape. - Monari developed Renal Roads, a mobile dialysis clinic designed for rural and hard-to-reach communities. - Renal Roads uses a converted 40-foot shipping container mounted on a trailer. - The unit includes four safe dialysis machines, reclining chairs, an emergency area, reverse-osmosis water treatment, integrated plumbing, controlled drainage, solar power and backup systems. - The clinic visits three communities per week on average and can deliver up to 400 dialysis sessions per month. - Sessions are covered by Kenya’s national health insurance system. - Since being shortlisted, Renal Roads has partnered with Nipro Medical, a Japanese dialysis equipment maker, to expand access in Kenya. - The project has also received funding from the World Diabetes Foundation to develop mobile dialysis. - Muhuhu developed MoyoECG, a portable cardiac-monitoring platform for frontline health workers. - MoyoECG combines a wireless, multi-lead portable ECG with built-in AI to record and analyze heart activity. - The system can recognize more than 50 cardiac conditions and abnormalities, including atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia, ventricular arrhythmias, conduction disorders and signs of myocardial ischemia. - Early deployments cut ECG interpretation time from about 30 minutes to under five minutes, including in places with unreliable internet. - MoyoECG won Qualcomm’s Make in Africa competition. - The project has also received support and recognition from the University of Oxford, Novartis, the Global Fund, Standard Chartered Bank and the Kenya Cardiac Society. - Since launching in 2014, the Africa Prize has supported more than 180 businesses in 24 countries through training, mentoring and communications support. - Alumni have generated revenue at a rate of 85% and have raised more than $34 million in grants and third-party equity. - The 2026 finale is supported by Anglo American and will include remarks from Lisa Weedon, the UK’s acting high commissioner in South Africa. - The four finalists will present to judges and an audience in Johannesburg and online. - Other shortlisted innovators will compete for the £5,000 One-to-Watch prize, which will be decided by public vote. - More information is available in the Royal Academy of Engineering announcement.

Between the lines: - The finalist mix points to a strong focus on practical infrastructure, not just lab-based invention. - Health care is the clearest theme, with two of the four projects aimed at diagnosis or treatment delivery. - The prize’s support model appears designed to move startups from prototype to deployment, not just recognition. - Pee-Cycling and Renal Roads both show how the program is helping ventures secure commercial partners and public-sector entry points.

What's next: - The finalists will pitch their projects on October 28 in Johannesburg. - Judges will choose the Africa Prize winner and the other top prize recipients at the finale. - The public will vote on the separate One-to-Watch award. - The winning teams could use the visibility and cash to expand production, partnerships and cross-border deployment.