Social Entrepreneurs Recognized at Latest ASME ISHOW Kenya
Social Entrepreneurs Recognized at Latest ASME ISHOW Kenya
Last month, the creators of three innovative products developed to benefit society — an affordable solar-powered cook stove, a sanitary pad dispenser system for schools, and a smartphone technology for detecting and diagnosing malaria — were selected as the winners of the ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) Kenya.
During the virtual competition, which took place May 19-21, eight teams of socially conscious entrepreneurs presented their inventions to a panel of judges consisting of esteemed entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors and industry representatives.
The panel selected three teams of finalists — Ecobora Company, Inteco Kenya Ltd. and MicroFuse Technologies — as grand-prize winners of ISHOW Kenya. The three teams will share $30,000 in seed grants and receive technical support to help bring their design innovations to market.
One of the winning teams, Ecobora Company, from Nairobi, was recognized for its product, the Solar Cooking Boiler. The company equips disenfranchised schools with the device — an affordable solar-powered cook stove that can be operated both day and night. The stove collects solar energy and stores it in a repurposed oil tank using waste motor oil as an effective carbon sink tank, thereby completely eliminating the need for firewood. The stove provides a reliable source of heat energy throughout the year, including rainy seasons.
A second finalist, Inteco Kenya Ltd., was selected as an ISHOW grand-prize winner for its innovation, the Ari sanitary pad dispenser system. The Nairobi-based company is involved in the distribution and supply chain management of donated sanitary pads to adolescent girls in schools in Kenya. The company works to secure the value chain by ensuring that the sanitary pads reach their intended users and that students have access to pads when they need them, using near field communication (NFC) cards at sanitary pad dispensers that have been installed in schools.
MicroFuse Technologies of Lagos, Nigeria, was named the third winner of the regional event for developing Cipher, a technology that allows the user to identify and diagnose cerebral malarial retinopathy using a smartphone. The technology, which can also capture other individual patient data, has particular potential for helping doctors make instantaneous diagnoses of malaria and to detect other illnesses in children.
Two additional ISHOW Kenya finalists were selected as the winners of special ISHOW prizes.
Dunamis-Cognitio, of Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, received the Fan Favorite Award for its product, Ina Lite — a sustainable, inexpensive portable thermoelectric generator that harnesses heat energy from a USB power port in order to generate electricity. The winner of the “Fan Favorite” honor — the entry with the most votes on social media at each regional ISHOW event — receives a $1,000 prize, which is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr., M.S., P.E., Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber.
Another team competing in the finals, BURN Manufacturing Co. of Ruiru, Kenya, was honored with a special Research and Development Award. The award recognizes an ISHOW team for improving on a previous innovation and developing its next generation of hardware. The team received the award for its Kuniokoa TURBO Stove, a forced-draft biomass stove that is compatible with “pay-as-you-go” solar systems. The new stove improves on the company’s pioneering Kuniokoa stove by shortening boiling time, decreasing tending intervals, and often burning wood fuel as cleanly as liquefied petroleum gas.
ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW as the Impact Inventing sponsor, and to ISHOW implementation partners throughout the world.
A third virtual competition, ISHOW USA, will be held June 23-26 for finalists in North and South America. For more information on the ISHOW program, or to view the ISHOW Kenya finalists’ product pitches, visit https://thisishardware.org.
During the virtual competition, which took place May 19-21, eight teams of socially conscious entrepreneurs presented their inventions to a panel of judges consisting of esteemed entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors and industry representatives.
The panel selected three teams of finalists — Ecobora Company, Inteco Kenya Ltd. and MicroFuse Technologies — as grand-prize winners of ISHOW Kenya. The three teams will share $30,000 in seed grants and receive technical support to help bring their design innovations to market.
One of the winning teams, Ecobora Company, from Nairobi, was recognized for its product, the Solar Cooking Boiler. The company equips disenfranchised schools with the device — an affordable solar-powered cook stove that can be operated both day and night. The stove collects solar energy and stores it in a repurposed oil tank using waste motor oil as an effective carbon sink tank, thereby completely eliminating the need for firewood. The stove provides a reliable source of heat energy throughout the year, including rainy seasons.
A second finalist, Inteco Kenya Ltd., was selected as an ISHOW grand-prize winner for its innovation, the Ari sanitary pad dispenser system. The Nairobi-based company is involved in the distribution and supply chain management of donated sanitary pads to adolescent girls in schools in Kenya. The company works to secure the value chain by ensuring that the sanitary pads reach their intended users and that students have access to pads when they need them, using near field communication (NFC) cards at sanitary pad dispensers that have been installed in schools.
MicroFuse Technologies of Lagos, Nigeria, was named the third winner of the regional event for developing Cipher, a technology that allows the user to identify and diagnose cerebral malarial retinopathy using a smartphone. The technology, which can also capture other individual patient data, has particular potential for helping doctors make instantaneous diagnoses of malaria and to detect other illnesses in children.
Two additional ISHOW Kenya finalists were selected as the winners of special ISHOW prizes.
Dunamis-Cognitio, of Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, received the Fan Favorite Award for its product, Ina Lite — a sustainable, inexpensive portable thermoelectric generator that harnesses heat energy from a USB power port in order to generate electricity. The winner of the “Fan Favorite” honor — the entry with the most votes on social media at each regional ISHOW event — receives a $1,000 prize, which is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr., M.S., P.E., Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber.
Another team competing in the finals, BURN Manufacturing Co. of Ruiru, Kenya, was honored with a special Research and Development Award. The award recognizes an ISHOW team for improving on a previous innovation and developing its next generation of hardware. The team received the award for its Kuniokoa TURBO Stove, a forced-draft biomass stove that is compatible with “pay-as-you-go” solar systems. The new stove improves on the company’s pioneering Kuniokoa stove by shortening boiling time, decreasing tending intervals, and often burning wood fuel as cleanly as liquefied petroleum gas.
ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW as the Impact Inventing sponsor, and to ISHOW implementation partners throughout the world.
A third virtual competition, ISHOW USA, will be held June 23-26 for finalists in North and South America. For more information on the ISHOW program, or to view the ISHOW Kenya finalists’ product pitches, visit https://thisishardware.org.
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