Nigeria’s Ifediora Ugochukwu named finalist of 2018 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Ifediora Ugochukwu, founder of iMeter, has made it into the finals of the prestigious 2018 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

iMeter is a smart meter that measures energy usage and connects to cell phones or computers that have the AMI software on them. The Intelligent Meter (iMeter) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) software helps prevent tampering with electricity meters and gives consumers more transparency and control over their energy use, and is already set for rollout in two Nigerian municipalities, with private and public partnerships in place.

Other inventions in the finals include a device that detects malaria without drawing blood, a cheap and sustainable recycling method to recover precious metals and a textbook-sized science lab for kids.

The finalists come from Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, with the latter working in South Africa. They were chosen for engineering innovations that provide new solutions.

“All four of our finalists have found novel ways to address critical challenges in their home countries – in fact, problems that are faced all over the world,” said Africa Prize judge, Rebecca Enonchong. “We’re proud to be part of the development of world-class African technologies, and to support emerging African entrepreneurs.”