This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
On October 24, 2019, German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented the German Africa Award to Juliana Rotich, a Kenyan IT pioneer, at the Allianz Forum in Berlin, Germany.
Since 1993, the German Africa Foundation has annually honored outstanding African personalities who have made significant contributions to peace, democracy, human rights, economic development, or culture on the African continent.
Rotich, a 42-year-old independent non-executive director at the Standard Group Plc, is the co-founder of Ushahidi, an open-source platform that has revolutionized the flow of information worldwide.
Through Ushahidi, witnesses can upload events and incidents, which are then located chronologically and geographically on a map. The real-time maps are used in over 160 countries during times of crisis, natural disasters, or election monitoring.
Rotich is also the co-founder of BRCK, a technology company that provides public Wi-Fi in sub-Saharan Africa. BRCK designed a battery-powered device that provides internet access through various channels without electricity for up to eight hours, ensuring that regions with low infrastructure or crisis areas have access to the digital world.
Today, BRCK is used in 150 countries around the world.
Rotich's innovations have shown that digital products made in Africa can conquer the global market, according to the event's organizers.
