Two Kenyan health innovators shortlisted for Sh8.6 million prize

Naom Monari.

Two Kenyan innovators have been selected among four finalists for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for developing technologies aimed at improving access to healthcare.

Naom Monari, a former student nurse, is behind Renal Roads, a mobile dialysis clinic designed to take kidney treatment to rural and hard-to-reach communities.

Dr Alice Muhuhu, a medical doctor and entrepreneur, developed MoyoECG, a portable heart-monitoring system that uses artificial intelligence to help health workers identify possible heart conditions and refer patients for specialist care.

The two Kenyans will compete against innovators from Niger and South Africa for the 2026 Africa Prize, run by the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

The winner will receive £50,000 (Sh8.6 million), while the other three finalists will each receive £10,000 (Sh1.7 million).

The four finalists were selected from 16 entrepreneurs who have been taking part in an eight-month programme aimed at helping them develop and commercialise engineering solutions to local problems.

Rebecca Enonchong, chair of the Africa Prize judging panel, said the finalists demonstrated the range of engineering talent on the continent.

“This year’s shortlist is a strong demonstration of the extraordinary depth of engineering talent across the continent. Every entrepreneur has brought something different to the Africa Prize, with innovations spanning different sectors, countries and societal challenges,” she said.

“Our four finalists should be incredibly proud to have reached this stage. Each of their innovations provide solutions to very different challenges, but show what is possible when engineering is shaped by a clear understanding of a given problem in its local context. I’m excited to see them present their work in Johannesburg, and to celebrate the talent and innovation represented across the entire shortlist.”

Monari's Renal Roads is a fully equipped mobile dialysis clinic built inside a repurposed 40-foot shipping container mounted on a trailer.

The unit operates from local government health facilities on a fixed weekly schedule. It has four dialysis machines, reclining chairs, an emergency area, a water-treatment system, plumbing, controlled drainage, solar power and backup systems.

The service visits an average of three communities every week and can provide up to 400 dialysis sessions a month. The treatment is reimbursed through Kenya's national health insurance.

Monari began her journey as a student nurse in 2017 and later focused on improving access to chronic care in rural communities and areas affected by health insecurity.

Since being shortlisted for the Africa Prize, Renal Roads has partnered with Japanese dialysis equipment manufacturer Nipro Medical. It has also received funding from the World Diabetes Foundation to expand mobile dialysis services in Kenya.

Muhuhu's MoyoECG is designed for frontline health workers, particularly those working in facilities with limited access to specialist cardiac care.

Alice Muhuhu.

The system combines a wireless wearable multi-lead electrocardiogram with artificial intelligence to record and analyse the electrical activity of the heart.

It can identify patterns linked to more than 50 heart conditions and abnormalities, including abnormal heart rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, bradycardia and ventricular arrhythmias.

The system can also identify patterns associated with cardiac ischaemia and conduction abnormalities.

Early pilots have reduced the time needed to interpret an ECG from about 30 minutes to less than five minutes, including in areas with unreliable internet connections.

MoyoECG has won the Qualcomm Make in Africa competition and received support or recognition from organisations including the University of Oxford, Novartis, the Global Fund, Standard Chartered Bank and the Kenya Cardiac Society.

The other two finalists are Niger's Mamane Kabirou Ousseini and South Africa's Dyllon Randall.

Ousseini is the first engineer from Niger to be selected for the Africa Prize. His innovation, Likita Care, is a locally manufactured medical monitoring system for patient, cardiac and prenatal care.

The system combines a cardiograph, cardiotocograph and temporal thermometer and can monitor 12 vital signs in adults, newborns and foetuses. Its software allows telemedicine and simultaneous monitoring of between 10 and 20 patients.

More than 70 Likita Care monitoring units have been produced and deployed in Niger following testing involving more than 100 patients and more than 4,000 collected data points.

Randall, a chemical engineer, co-founded Pee-Cycling, a system that recovers nutrients from urine to produce fertiliser while also saving potable water.

The system collects urine through waterless urinals or no-mix toilets, treats it and produces concentrated liquid fertiliser and reusable water.

A full-scale unit can process up to 3,000 litres of urine a day.

The four finalists will present their innovations to judges at the Africa Prize Final in Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 28.

The remaining shortlisted innovators will also showcase their technologies and compete for the £5,000 One-to-Watch Award, which will be decided through an audience vote.

Since its launch in 2014, the Africa Prize has supported more than 180 businesses from 24 African countries through training, mentoring and communications support. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, 85 per cent of its alumni are generating revenue and have collectively secured more than $34 million in grants and equity funding.