This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Young Innovators Win Competition with Home-Grown Solutions ¶
On July 11, 2019, the Michael Joseph Centre in Nairobi hosted the 'My Little Big Thing Competition', where over 100 students from various Kenyan universities showcased their innovative solutions to Africa's pressing challenges.
Organised by MK-Africa, Safaricom, University of Cambridge South Africa, and PKF, the competition aimed to inspire students to devise home-grown solutions to poverty alleviation, hunger prevention, accessibility to quality healthcare, improvement of the quality of education, and gender equality.
Three students stood out from the rest: Cynthia Nkanai, Ruth Wanjiru, and Stephen Muchiri. Cynthia, a First Year student of Public Policy and Administration at Kenyatta University, finished third with her 'Keep a Child Warm' project, which makes improvised blankets for distribution to street families.
Ruth Wanjiru, who recently graduated with a Project Management degree from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), was second with her 'Power in Plastics' project, which encourages the re-use and recycling of plastics to empower low-income communities.
Stephen Muchiri, who also graduated from JKUAT with a degree in Control and Instrumentation, won the competition with his 'Auto-alcoblow' invention, an alcohol detection and monitoring system.
Stephen's system uses sensors to disable a car's ignition if the driver is intoxicated and unfit to operate the vehicle. It measures the blood alcohol concentration levels of a driver through their breath and compares it to a pre-set standard before taking appropriate action.
Stephen's system also sends a text message to the drunk driver's close associate and informs them that the driver is not in a position to drive.
The three winners are set to attend the Cambridge University Sustainability Practitioners Programme in South Africa next month and will enter a three-month incubation period to further improve their projects.
