Africa’s most notable prize dedicated to engineering innovation, The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, just handed out its tenth Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation in Nairobi. This year, the recipient was Esther Kimani an amazing innovator from Kenya. Through her patented innovation, she has been able to help reduce crop losses for smallholder farmers by up to 30%.
This year, the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation awarded Esther Kiman, a Kenyan computer the sum of £50,000 for her work in aiding small-scale farmers in fighting pests and diseases.
Through her solar-powered AI pest detection tool and machine learning-enabled cameras, farmers have been able to identify agricultural pests and diseases early, reducing crop loss by up to 30% while increasing yields by as much as 40%.
Esther Kimani is the third woman and second Kenyan entrepreneur to win the Africa Prize in its 10-year span.
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