Another Kenyan has won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2025, taking home £50,000. Elly Savatia was named this year’s winner at a ceremony held in Dakar on October 16, for his sign language translation app, Terp 360.
This is the second year in a row that Kenya has won the prize after Esther Kimani’s triumph in 2024.
Elly will use the award money to scale his AI-powered application that translates speech into sign language using lifelike 3D avatars. The tool addresses interpreter shortages and improves accessibility in classrooms and public services.
I’m totally grateful for this and it is a testament to the innovative assistive technology work that is coming from Africa. I’m really looking forward to the excellence that will come out of Signvrse, the rest of the shortlistees and the African continent.
~ said Elly Savatia, creator of Terp 360
This is the 11th consecutive year that the Royal Academy for Engineering is awarding what it calls the ‘largest dedicated engineering prize in Africa’. The final ceremony follows an eight-month business programme of training, mentoring and support for 16 African innovators who were shortlisted, with four finalists being picked to contest for top spot.
The event was part funded by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and marked the first time the Africa Prize has been hosted in Francophone Africa, in a bid to raise awareness of the Africa Prize and applications from this region.
This is exactly what the Africa Prize is all about. It’s showcasing cutting edge innovations by Africans for the World.
~ Rebecca Enonchong FREng, Chair of the Africa Prize judging panel
The remaining three finalists who go home with a £10,000 are Vivian Arinaitwe (Uganda), Neo Nest; Eng. Carol Ofafa (Kenya), E-Safiri; and Frank Owusu (Ghana), Aquamet.
Also feted was Rui Bauhofer from Mozambique whose Eco-Plates was named as an innovation worth watching. Eco-Plates are disposable plates made from recycled maize husks that are fully bio-degradable and infused with seeds that will germinate and grow once discarded. He walked away with the £5,000 One to Watch prize.
