George Mtemahanji
Age: 23
Country: Tanzania
Invention: SunSweet Solar Limited
At 23 years old, George Mtemahanji is the mastermind behind SunSweet Solar Limited which is a solar photovoltaic company based in Tanzania. SunSweet Solar designs and installs Solar Off-Grid Systems, Solar Mini and Micro Grid Systems. With a high knowledge in photovoltaic systems, they offer in East Africa high quality solutions with the latest technology. George’s vision is to deliver and install over 10,000 systems for rural areas over the next five years, which would result in several families gaining access to electricity, saving trees, and improving the health of people in communities by replacing kerosene with solar energy. http://www.sunsweetsolarltd.com/
Name: Chris Kwekowe
Age: 23
Country: Nigeria
Invention: Slatecube
Sector: Employment
Chris Kwekowe co-founded Slatecube, a service that adequately solves the constraints of e-learning to help solve youth unemployment in Nigeria. Slatecube aims to link more qualified and well-deserving Nigerian students with top-notch organisations. Nearly 200 individuals actively use the Slatecube service to take free courses, acquire new knowledge, read new books, and serve virtual internships. To date, 80% of users have successfully landed well-paying jobs after building skills on Slatecube and startups and SMEs have saved over $100,000 when they recruit skilled labour from Slatecube.
Name: Brian Gitta
Age: 24
Country: Uganda
Invention: Matibabu
Sector: Health
Inspired by his own experiences of malaria, Brian Gitta developed Matibabu, the first smartphone-based diagnosis system for malaria. The basic idea involves a custom made piece of hardware which consists of a red LED and a light sensor. A finger is inserted into the device to diagnose and the results are viewed via a smartphone. The team Code8 from Uganda have developed this ingenious idea and also just won the Microsoft Imagine Cup as the first team from Africa ever recently. The mobile app can diagnose malaria without the need for invasive techniques such as needles.
https://www.imaginecup.com/finalists/team?teamName=code8&year=2013
Name: THATO KGATLHANYE
Age: 23
Country: South Africa
Invention: Repurposed School Bags
Sector: Electricity & Environmental Affairs
Thato is the founder and CEO of Repurpose Schoolbags, a company that creates school bags from up-cycled plastic bags. Integrated solar power packs allow the bags to be charged during the day so that they can be used as lamplights for evening study. The business employs 10 full time members of staff and plastic bag collectors who have collected up to 4,000 plastic bags to date.
https://www.facebook.com/repurposeschoolbags
https://twitter.com/OfficialRethaka
Siyabulela Xuza
Age: 27
Country: South Africa
Industry: Energy
Invention: Galactic Energy Venture
Siya Xuza is the Founder and Managing Director of Galactic Energy Ventures; an investment holding company focused on creating global opportunities through smart energy by developing and investing in innovative solutions to address the energy needs of emerging markets. He first began experimenting with rocket fuel recipes as a kid in his mother’s kitchen. Those experiments turned into the creation of a cheaper and safer rocket fuel. In 2007, his original rocket fuel won first place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Previously, Siya conducted research at the Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems and the MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories on microfuel cells – distributed energy that could be used to power remote and rural areas. In 2013, his groundbreaking work on microfuel cells was published in the Journal of Electroceramics.
Martha Njeri Chumo
Age: 21
Country: Kenya
Initiative: DEV school
Sector: Tech. Education
At only 19 years old, Martha Chumo founded the DEV school, Kenya’s first coding school, which provides Kenyan youth with computer programming knowledge and skills to build sustainable solutions using technology. DEV school was started with a focus on empowering women to address the great gender imbalance in the IT world. To fulfil her dream, Martha managed to raise about $12,000 for her cause via an Indiegogo campaign. The DEV school is free of charge for participants.
