Kenyan, Ugandan Business Owners Join Hardware-led Social Innovation Accelerator
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).
Three entrepreneurs were chosen as regional winners and will split US$30,000 in seed grants and receive technical assistance to help them market their design innovations. The eight finalist teams of social innovators from all over Africa for the ISHOW presented their design prototypes in a virtual event held June 14–22.
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.
More than ever, social entrepreneurs require the assistance of the community working to make a positive worldwide effect, according to Iana Aranda, director of ASME’s Engineering Global Development sector, which also houses ISHOW.
“Social entrepreneurs are at the forefront of disaster response and the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals all around the world, including several ISHOW initiatives. Our goal is to give these innovators easily accessible forums for capacity building, expert involvement, and co-design of scaling methods appropriate for today’s dynamic markets. Their success must be ensured at all costs.
