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SA man finalist in international engineering contest

Cape Town - A South African engineer has been named a finalist at an international competition.

Ernst Pretorius from Pretoria developed a fence-mounted security system and is the only South African finalist in the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

He joins Dr Askwar Hilonga from Tanzania who invented a low-cost water filtration system; Musenga Silwawa from Zambia for his spot fertiliser applicator and Samuel Wangui from Kenya for a SIM-card swapping service.

"The finalists are an exemplar of African engineering innovation with remarkable potential," said Dr Bola Olabisi, Africa Prize judge and CEO of the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network.

But entrants did not have it plain sailing. Their ideas were subject to detailed scrutiny and modification.

Unique problems

"The Africa Prize prompted me to reconsider my business plan and identify prototype functionalities I'd never thought of. I will always be grateful to the Royal Academy of Engineering for organising the Prize,” said Pretorius.

Of all the entries from 15 countries, 12 were eventually chosen to be mentored.

The prize is the brainchild of the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) and the winner will receive £25 000 at a ceremony on June 1 in Cape Town.

The prize is intended to spur technological solutions for problems unique to the African context.

"Their revolutionary ideas will help boost the standard of living for many sub-Saharan Africans. I commend all entrants and finalists for their determination and tenacity," Olabisi said of the finalists.

While the inventions are diverse, it is an indicator of the engineering skill in Africa.

"The four Africa Prize finalists represent a good cross-section of African engineering talent," said Africa Prize judge Stephen Dawson, a venture capitalist and chair of Jacana Partners in the UK.

The RAEng will host a second round of the Africa Prize for engineers living in Sub Saharan Africa with details on the website.


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