Sixteen inventors across 11 African countries have been shortlisted for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

The annual Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded in 2014 by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s largest prize dedicated exclusively to engineering innovation.

The Royal Academy of Engineering announced the penultimate shortlist, featuring two Nigerian nominees, in a statement issued on March 25. 

The academy said selected innovators would undergo eight months of training focused on core business skills, enjoy sector-specific engineering mentoring, and have access to the Academy’s network of engineers and business leaders in both the United Kingdom and Africa, as a build-up to the final.

The Royal Academy of Engineering said the shortlist featured innovations including AI-powered maternal and cardiac health tools, mobile dialysis technologies, digital education for biomedical and coding skills, and smart public transport platforms.

It identified other entries as renewable energy systems for off-grid communities and hospitals, smart agritech platforms, and low-cost clean-water supply and waste-management systems.

Two Nigerian tech entrepreneurs, Chidi Nwaogu and Derick Nwasor, separately featured on the list for developing solution-oriented technologies named ‘Efiwe’ and ‘Just Add Water,’ respectively.

“Efiwe, developed by Chidi Nwaogu in Nigeria, is a mobile-first coding platform that runs offline on basic smartphones, enabling young people excluded from traditional digital education to learn web development with AI support in 189 languages,” the statement said.

“Just Add Water by Derick Nwasor from Nigeria is a quantum and AI-optimised regenerative fuel cell technology, providing clean energy and medical-grade oxygen to healthcare facilities, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and third-party oxygen delivery,” it added.

The Academy stated that other shortlisted innovations and entrepreneurs from countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia earned recognition for their solutions to environmental, educational and health challenges in their communities.

Commenting, Rebecca Enonchong, Chair of the Africa Prize judging panel and Cameroonian technology entrepreneur, described the selected innovations as representative of the varied local engineering solutions and businesses across the African continent.

“The 2026 shortlist is representative of the diverse range of local engineering solutions and businesses that are developing across the continent and their ability to address crucial challenges in healthcare, education, transport and sustainability. We look forward to supporting these entrepreneurs to scale up their impact and benefit local communities,” Ms Enonchong stated.

Lauding the initiative, the last recipient of the annual Africa prize and founder of Signvrse, Elly Savatia, stated that the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation was a decisive point and that he connected his innovation with supportive partners.

“The prize connected us with partners and advisors who helped us build the infrastructure needed to make communication accessible for diverse Deaf communities. I look forward to seeing how the new shortlist of innovators enhances their own business journeys by participating in the programme,” Mr Savatia stated.

The Academy noted that the programme’s panel of judges would subsequently select four finalists who will pitch ideas to ultimately win the 2026 Africa Prize at a live final event in Johannesburg in October.

“The winner of the Africa Prize will receive £50,000, while the three runners up will each be awarded £10,000. The audience will then select the winner of this year’s ‘One-to-Watch’ award for the most impactful pitch, worth £5,000,” the Academy said.