North Africa sweeps first Innovation Prize for Africa

Two North African innovators came tops at the first ever Innovation Prize for Africa, sweeping all the two prizes at stake at a ceremony at  the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The winners are from Egypt and Algeria.

The $100,000 first prize went to Egyptian Mohammed Sanad, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt. And the $50,000 second prize went to Algerian chemist, Zeinou Abdelyamine.

Sanad’s award winning innovation is a low-cost, lightweight, low wind-load, foldable/deployable, multi-broadband base station antenna; using dual parabolic cylindrical reflectors with novel small size broadband resonant feeds. The innovation makes it possible to upgrade mobile phone technology without having to discard equipment. For instance, the technology makes it possible to upgrade from 2G to 3G and upwards without adding new equipment, it only requires software upgrade. It also makes it possible to run old and new software simultaneously.

Abdelyamine’s innovation are environmentally friendly 100% natural insecticides and rodenticides.

The two received certificates, plaques and cheques.

The other five nominees were given certificates.

The annual awards has been instituted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) and it is designed to promote the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers among young African men and women and especially to develop innovative solutions with a great potential for commercialisation.

Over 500 entries from 38 African countries were received.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia