It is not mistaken to say in the recent years, Africa is growing prominence in the global invention ecosystem. Providing research and analysis on the world’s best innovation ecosystems through its annual Global Startup Ecosystem Index Africa ranked among the fast growing innovative continent most especially in the area of tech startup.
The African inventions/tech sector has grown tremendously in the last decade. Several of these innovation has been acknowledged among the famous inventions made in Africa and had grew to record breakthrough and attracting several investors in the process. Africa is the fastest-growing continent for technologist and developers globally.
You may have heard about famous inventions made in Africa like the Paystack, Flutterwave and Cat Scan. But there are countless other, often overlooked as inventions that make African daily lives easier. Among these creative innovation are the famous inventions made in Africa as discussed below.
Most Famous Inventions Made in Africa.
Africa enjoys a fertile environment for innovation and inventions due to the continent’s youthful and growing population, rising internet penetration, and the application of emerging technologies that have the potential to improve access to healthcare, financial services, education, energy and so on. Here are the famous inventions made in Africa.
1. Paystack
Paystack is one of the most famous inventions made in Africa that allowed businesses in Africa accept payments by anyone, anywhere in the world via credit card, debit card, money transfer, and mobile money on their websites or mobile apps.
It specializes in the fields of financial services, the internet, and payments. The company was founded in 2015 and headquartered in Ikeja, Lagos.
Paystack offers an online payment platform that makes it easy for merchants to accept electronic payments from customers.
This Privacy Policy is intended to set certain standards across the operations of Paystack Payments Limited.
Paystack currently has more than 60,000 customers, including small businesses, larger corporates, fintechs, educational institutions and online betting companies.
2. Flutterwave
Flutterwave is also one of the greatest invention to provide the easiest and most reliable payments solution for businesses anywhere in the world.
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 by a team of ex-bankers, entrepreneurs and engineers. Flutterwave decided to provide the award-winning technology core needed to provide businesses all around the world a powerful, reliable and intelligent payments gateway.
As one of the companies in tech industry of Nigeria, Flutterwave take security seriously so every payment made on our platform is 100% secure, even exceeding industry standard.
3. AutoChek
AutoChek is an auto-tech startup with offices in Ghana and Nigeria. Auto check began with the aim of enabling a seamless and safe means of buying and selling automotive.
This famous inventions Made in Africa, Autochek is aim to bringing sales, buying, and servicing cars online is living up to its expectation as it raised $3.4million in pre-seed funding in November 2020. The CEO of Autochek is Etop Ikpe is a Nigerian. He was also one of the co-founders of Cars 45.
4. Cardiopads (Heart Monitors Tablet).
Cardiopad is one of the famous inventions Made in Africa by Arthur Zang- a handheld medical computer tablet which healthcare workers in rural areas use to send the results of cardiac tests to specialists via a mobile phone connection.
Cardiopads (Heart Monitors Tablet) are distributed to hospitals and clinics in Cameroon free of charge, and patients pay $29 (£20) yearly subscriptions. It takes a digitised reading of the patient’s heart function. In a few seconds the results of a heart test are sent to a specialist clinic in the capital.
It is difficult for people in rural areas to travel to the cities to see heart specialists. There are just 50 cardiologists in Cameroon, which has a population of 20 million people. – Source: BBC
5. Economical Solar Power
In 2005, University of Johannesburg Physicist, Professor Vivian Alberts, developed solar power technology that uses a micro-thin metallic film instead of the much thicker and considerably more expensive silicon-based solar photovoltaic cells.
6. Speed Gun Sports Technology
In 1992, South African engineer Henri Johnson revolutionised cricket and tennis when he invented the world’s first radar gun to measure the speed and angle of fast-flying balls.
The gun works by sending out a radio wave, which is then reflected back by any object in its path. The gun receives this echo and then, using the Doppler Shift principle, calculates the speed of the ball. The technology is highly accurate and instantaneous.
7. Smart Jacket (jacket that detects pneumonia).
Ugandan engineer Brian Turyabagye has designed a biomedical “smart jacket” to quickly and accurately diagnose pneumonia. The Mamaope jacket measures a sick child’s temperature and breathing rate. It can diagnose pneumonia three to four times faster than a doctor and eliminates most possibility for human error.
Pneumonia kills 27,000 Ugandan children under the age of five every year. Most of these cases are due to pneumonia being misdiagnosed as malaria.
A modified stethoscope is put in a vest. It is linked to a mobile phone app that records the audio of the patient’s chest. Analysis of that audio can detect lung crackles and can lead to preliminary diagnoses.
8. Aella Credit
Among the famous inventions Made in Africa is Aella Credit which aims at solving every user’s financial needs.
They make it stress-free for users to borrow, invest, and make payments. It also secured $10 million in investment from a Singaporean company.
Notwithstanding, the company aims to include more African countries in its financial inclusion plans and make sure many people who are still unbanked get access to financial aids. Akin Jones is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Aella Credit.
9. 54gene
This African tech company is unique and vital for the continent because it provides greater information when it comes to African Genomics, leading to several scientific and medical breakthroughs.
The company collects genetic information for health research and development. Consequently, the company received up to $15 million in investment in 2020. Also, 54gene has over 300 researchers and geneticists across the continent and a research lab in Lagos, Nigeria. Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of 54gene.
10. TradeDepot
The TradeDepot among the famous inventions made in Africa links the international market with small businesses across Africa.
It raised 10 million dollars in 2020 alone. Although TradeDepot was established in 2016, it has built a massive network of over 40,000 small businesses in Africa and connects them with the global populace.
It is important to know that retailers can use the company’s mobile app, Whatsapp, or USSD to place orders and have goods delivered to their various locations.
11. Cat Scan
The Cat Scan is the most famous inventions made in Africa commonly used throughout the world in the medical field. Odds are that you may have been in one before. The technologist behind this incredible invention is the South African Allan Cormack. While working at a hospital he was asked to find a way to measure how much X-ray energy was absorbed by different parts of the body.
Allan Cormack figured that by making an X-ray map of the body, the map would show which tissues and other materials were where by shooting X-rays through the body from many different angles.
Cormack worked out a mathematical formula to compile an accurate image from the readings made by X-rays criss-crossing the body from different directions. Allan Cormack successfully tested and refined his work and then published a series of papers of his findings in the 1960s, leaving it up to the engineers.
12. Helium Health
Helium health aims to bring better delivery of medical services to Africa. They currently cut through countries like Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana. Helium health is founded by three Nigerian entrepreneurs (Adegoke Olubusi, Tito Ovia, and Dimeji Sofowora).
Helium Health raised a $10 million investment in April 2020. The founder described Helium Health as being in a good position during a difficult period in 2020.
