Submitted by H. Hutton on Tue, 29/11/2022 - 12:28
29 November 2022 - On 23 November 2022, the Canopy of the University of Cambridge institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) welcomed fifteen talented entrepreneurs to the University of Cambridge institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) for a pitching session as part of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s 2023 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation programme.
The entrepreneurs from Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe have been shortlisted for the prestigious eight-month training and mentoring programme that offers commercialisation support to early-stage entrepreneurs developing sustainable and scalable engineering solutions to local challenges.
This year’s shortlisted innovations range from a remote healthcare monitoring system improving rural healthcare, to a low-energy low-pollution cooking stove, and accessible electric mobility solutions. This session was part of the shortlist’s first training week and each entrepreneur had the opportunity to deliver three-minute pitches to a panel of judges: Wariara Waireri, Partnerships Manager at the Raspberry Pi Foundation; Stephen Gugu, Co-founder at ViKtoria Ventures, and James Cole, Director of Communications and Corporate Relations at CISL.
The Canopy, CISL’s new global community and Cambridge workspace, supports entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses to scale their impact and accelerate solutions to global sustainability challenges.
Gibson Kawago, from Tanzania was unanimously declared the winner by the judges with his innovation WAGA Power Pack, a power pack made with recycled laptop batteries to provide reliable and affordable power for electric bikes, power banks, solar lights, businesses and homes.
