Ugandan software engineer eyes Africa’s largest engineering innovation award

Ritah Kemigisa | June 9, 2023

Anatoli Kirigwajjo, a Ugandan software engineer has been named among the top four finalists for this year’s Africa engineering innovation award which is worth £25,000 (about Shs 116 million).

The Africa Prize, founded by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation.

The four finalists were selected from a shortlist of 15 African innovators for their proven ability to harness engineering to address common problems faced by Africans across the continent.

The innovations tackle challenges central to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including good health and well-being, affordable and clean energy, peaceful and inclusive societies, and reduced inequalities.

The finalists were chosen by the Royal Academy of Engineering after receiving support over eight months to help them accelerate their businesses.

Kirigwajjo is the developer of YUNGA, a local digital security network that connects neighbours to each other and police within a 20km radius via a physical device, smartphone app, or SMS service, providing security at a low cost.

He says he developed a safety network after losing USD 1,300 worth of assets in a break-in, with little chance of the thieves being caught.

He has told KFM that participating in this competition has opened doors to both local and foreign investors expressing optimism that bagging the award will see more households added to their protection belt.

“We’ve been able to also get very interesting investors, we’ve been able to get investment even before the project ended. The training was well utilized and we got local investment from here, we’ve also managed to find in some Korea and also now having conversations with other investors in London,” Kirigwajjo told KFM.

The ninth winner will be announced in Accra, Ghana, on July 6, 2023, and will be awarded £25,000, with the other three finalists receiving £10,000 each.

This year’s finalists are from Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, each of which is home to a previous Africa Prize winner.