A greenhouse gas filter for diesel engines, modular quick-build homes and an AI-powered prenatal care wearable device are three of the eight technologies in development now by finalists of ASME ISHOW Kenya 2023. ASME – the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – announced the finalists to the Kenya regional social innovation accelerator this week.
The teams of social innovators from throughout Africa will present their prototypes and participate in a design and engineering review in a virtual event beginning June 6. Three regional winners will be announced in a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, June 14 at 12 PM EST (7 PM EAT).
Register here to attend the virtual ASME ISHOW Kenya 2023
The ISHOW Kenya finalists are developing technology to address issues including affordable healthcare and more efficient agriculture, sustainable construction and cleaner energy and transportation. Three winners will take a share of (USD) $30,000 in seed grants and technical support. The goal is to bring their design innovations to market to benefit underserved communities.
The regional finalists are:
Alcoford Corporation (Lomé, Togo) for its “Dehydrated cost-effective ethanol process” – an innovative process that converts cassava and post-harvest losses into ethanol through intervention of multilevel distillation technology helping women farmers earn better
A-Lite Uganda Limited (Mbarara, Uganda) for its “A-Lite Vein Locator” – a non-invasive medical device that uses red light to provide easy access to patients’ veins
Carbon Zero Mobility Ltd. (Nairobi, Kenya) for its “Dominion-EV” – an electric vehicle providing sustainable transport to revolutionize the African e-mobility sector.
ClearExhaust LLC (Doha, Qatar) for its “Smokeless exhaust tube” – a diesel engine filter capable of eliminating 100% of smoke emissions and reducing other greenhouse gases by ~30%
Ecolife Foods (Wakiso, Uganda) for its “Ecolife iTES Cold Store” innovation – an affordable, sustainable cold room storage solution that reduces post-harvest crop loss for rural farmers in Uganda and is made of locally sourced and recycled materials
iWell Health Technologies (Kampala, Uganda) for its “iWell” product – a low-profile wearable device that accurately measures blood pressure
Timao Group (Nairobi, Kenya) for its “PORESI Builder” innovation – that produces polymer-sand building materials to address Africa’s climate change and housing crisis using a modular design that enables quick-build structures ranging from homes to shops and classrooms, providing affordable and durable building solutions
Wekebere Company Limited (Kampala, Uganda) for its “AI-powered wearable device” – a prenatal care technology combining connected devices and data analytics to reassure and empower mothers and provide doctors with tools and information to better predict and manage pregnancy concerns.
“We are proud to offer a forum for engineering problem-solving that truly improves lives,” Tom Costabile, ASME’s Executive Director and CEO said in a statement. “We are continually impressed by the creative talent of ASME ISHOW participants, their focus on sustainable solutions, and their passion for helping underserved communities around the world.”
ISHOW is open to anyone taking physical products to market that will have a positive social or environmental impact, or both, and that improve the quality of life around the world. Each year, ISHOW matches 24 innovators with experts who work to ensure that the proposed solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. To date, ISHOW has boosted more than 200 startups from more than 30 countries, each working to address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The ISHOW Kenya virtual awards ceremony will feature a keynote address by Joseph Murabula of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center based in Nairobi.
In addition to the three regional winners, the product with the most votes in social media for each regional event will be named the “Fan Favorite,” and those finalists will receive (USD) $1,000 each.
Follow @ASMEishow on Twitter for updates.
ASME hosted ISHOW India in Bengaluru as part of ASME Innovation Weekend India in April and will host ISHOW USA for finalists from the Americas, July 18-26.
Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.
Have a look at ISHOW’s impact from the perspective of the ISHOW 2022 cohort. And hear from the ISHOW winner behind PayGo in the video below.
See how PayGo, a Nairobi-based energy startup, is improving quality of life simply by making clean, safe cooking fuel more accessible and affordable. PayGo’s phone-enabled Cylinder Smart Meter, winner of the 2017 ASME ISHOW, allows users to purchase small amounts of gas as they use it, providing a safer way to cook indoors.
This article is adapted from a press release at ISHOW’s site, thisishardware.org. Read the press release here.
