Every nation in the world needs innovative people in order to advance in so many facets of life. Africa isn’t short of these creative innovators. Have you wondered about many Africans that have made life easier for us with their innovations? In this article, we have listed a few of these extraordinary people who have brought solutions to some of our everyday needs.
Reeddi by Olugbenga Olubanjo
Electricity has always been a major issue in Africa and it is no surprise that various parts of this continent have the least access to this basic necessity. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), electricity is accessible to only about 40% of Africans.
Nigeria may be known as the giant of Africa, but unfortunately, this country has a tremendous energy-access deficit in the world. Due to this, households and businesses require generators to provide electricity for themselves. Though this alternative provides relief to the unavailability of electricity, it is costly, provides a source of pollution in the environment and its not available to everyone.
A self-study on Reeddi confirms that individuals and businesses in Nigeria consume more than 40% of daily expenses spent on self-generated electricity. Fortunately, with the creation of a compact and portable solar-powered battery, we believe Olubanjo has successfully tackled this problem. Not only are these batteries affordable at lower prices, but daily expenses spent on electricity are also reduced to less than 10%.
Over 600 households and businesses in Lagos make use of these batteries every month. The company plans to expand further in Nigeria before taking the products to other nations in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Kubeko by Noel N’guessan
Africa is blessed with more than 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land. Unfortunately, its contribution to global agricultural production remains poor. Several factors cause this low productivity, including post-harvest loss. About 70% of this continent’s food supply is provided by small holder farmers. Unfortunately, these poor farmers may lose almost all their harvested products before sale, creating great difficulties in agricultural productivity.
Noel N’guessan, a citizen of Côte D’Ivoire developed a set of low-cost bio-waste processing equipment known as Kubeko. This was a successful attempt in solving the problem of post-harvest waste which was about two to five times more than the number of crops sold in Côte D’Ivoire.
The Kubeko types of equipment which include a Kubeko composter and a Kubeko biogas system produce fertilizers. With these types of equipment, farmers can make their fertilizers and the need for purchasing fertilizers will rapidly disappear.
The invention of Kubeko made N’guessan win the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. His idea has indeed helped increase agricultural productivity as well as the earnings of farmers and it has also provided healthier organic food choices for consumers.
Nano Mask by Dr Joseph Nderitu
According to the World Health Organization, six out of seven COVID-19 infections remain undetected in Africa. As of September 30, 2021, about 211,853 people lost their lives from this unfortunate pandemic. We’re yet to recover from the pandemic that struck the world and
although vaccines have been made and are currently being distributed around the world, they remain unavailable in some African countries, leaving people susceptible to COVID-19 infection. Thus, people still need to wear masks as a form of protection, despite the continuation of economic activities.
Dr. Joseph Nderitu, a Kenyan scientist and doctor who works at the Kenyatta National Hospital observed that the masks available in the markets did not provide enough protection against COVID-19 and even caused allergic reactions. Health workers fell ill and distress only increased.
Determined to find a solution, he created the nano mask using nanotechnology. The Nano mask kills viruses on contact which prevents the microbes from breaking into one’s airways, it is also reusable and causes no allergic reactions.
