Africa has always been a land of ingenuity, but often, the world overlooks the groundbreaking work happening here. Every day, young entrepreneurs, tech experts, and creative thinkers are developing innovations that solve real problems and improve lives. Yet many of these innovators struggle to get the recognition they deserve.
To help change that, here’s a look at ten African inventors and their remarkable contributions, innovations that open doors for business, technology, and social progress.
10 Popular African Innovators and Their Ingenious Innovations.
1. Mellowcabs
Neil du Preez is the founder of Mellowcabs, a small electric vehicle designed for short-distance urban travel. These eco-friendly cabs are built to navigate congested city streets while reducing carbon emissions. Some models include solar panels and adaptable bodies, offering a glimpse into the future of sustainable urban mobility.
2. Hospital in a Box
In order to help bring surgical care to every region of the continent, Seyi Oyesola also an African inventor, Nigeria to be precise, co-developed CompactOR, or the “Hospital in a Box”: a portable medical system that contains anesthetic and surgical equipment. Simply put, it is life-saving operating room which can be transported to remote areas of Africa and set up within minutes.
3. Cardiopad
At 26, Cameroonian inventor Arthur Zang developed the Cardiopad, a touchscreen tablet that performs heart tests like ECGs remotely. Doctors can receive results wirelessly, allowing patients in rural areas to access life-saving cardiac care without traveling long distances.
4. Cancer Goggles
The cancer goggle was developed in the US by a Nigeria surgeon Dr Achilefu. The goggle lets surgeons “see” which cells in the human body are cancerous and which are healthy, increasing the chances that they will be able remove all cancer cells in one operation.
Dr Achilefu was awarded a St. Louis Award fir his invention.
5. The Saphonian
This is a Tunisia-based and made cleantech wind energy development. The latest innovated zero blade converter is targeted to produce cost effective and efficient green energy. It has a sail that is used to channel the wind on a back and forth motion converting the Kinetic energy into mechanical energy by the use of pistons.
The same piston will subsequently convert the said energy into the hydraulic pressure that can either be stored in the hydraulic accumulator or using hydraulic motor or generator convert it to working electricity. The Saphonian was founded by the two Tunisians, Hassine Labaied, and Anis Aouini.
6. SavvyLoo
This is a peddled operational, easy to assess waterless toilet basically designed for the rural communities and informal settlements. It is designed with a conical disk that separates urine, diarrhea and all sorts of solid from liquids.
Savvyloo country of origin is South Africa and has seen an immense reception among the informal settlements in the same nation. Currently, this is one of the commonly known and used toilet across rural communities in various countries.
7. Tellurometer
One of the famously known South African engineer, Trevor Lloyd Wadley is the man behind tellurometer. Widely known as the Micro-Distancer MRA 1, this device is made specifically to measure earth’s ionosphere. Trevor developed a loop circuit which enables a better and greater stability on the communication panel.
8. CT Scanner
Physicist Allan Cormack laid the theoretical foundation for the CT scanner, which allows doctors to view cross-sections of the human body. Although the first practical scanner was built by British engineer Godfrey Hounsfield, Cormack’s work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1979.
9. Pool Cleaner
This hydraulics engineer invented the swimming pool vacuum cleaner (Kreepy Krauly). This automatic vacuum cleaner is efficiently powered by the ordinary operation of the pool’s filter. Today Kreepy Krauly is helping many people in South Africa and around the world.
10. Graphite Anode
This Moroccan scientist is well-known for his research on lithium ion batteries and on fluoride ion batteries. He invented graphite anode of lithium ion batteries. Today companies like Samsung, Nokia, Apple and more uses this African invention. Yazami earned his graduation at the Grenoble Institute of Technology, followed by a Ph. D. (1985) at the same institute.
This List was compiled by Samson Mwendwa Sam, a young aspiring freelancer, currently pursuing a degree in tourism management at the technical University of Mombasa kenya.
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