Kenyan engineer Elly Savatia has been named the winner of the 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. He created Terp 360, an AI-powered sign language translation app that converts speech into sign language using lifelike 3D avatars.
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The announcement was made during the Africa Prize live final in Dakar, Senegal.
“I’m totally grateful for this and it is a testament to the innovative assistive technology work that is coming from Africa,” said Savatia. “I’m really looking forward to the excellence that will come out of Signvrse, the rest of the shortlistees and the African continent.”
Terp 360 leverages artificial intelligence and a growing dataset of over 2,300 locally recorded signs to deliver translations that are both culturally relevant and expressive. The app seeks to bridge interpreter shortages and improve accessibility for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. This will particularly be useful in education, corporate, and healthcare environments.
Savatia received £50,000 in prize money to expand Terp 360’s reach. His team now plans to focus on B2B partnerships to integrate the solution into institutional systems.
This year’s judging panel, chaired by Rebecca Enonchong FREng, evaluated participants on the strength of their engineering solutions, scalability, and commercial potential.
“This is exactly what the Africa Prize is all about. It’s showcasing cutting edge innovations by Africans for the World,” said Enonchong.
Other finalists included:
- Vivian Arinaitwe (Uganda), Neo Nest: A portable, low-cost neonatal warming and monitoring device.
- Frank Owusu (Ghana), Aquamet: A smart water-quality monitoring system for fish farmers.
- Carol Ofafa (Kenya), E-Safiri: Solar-powered battery-swapping hubs for e-bikes and motorbikes.
Each finalist received £10,000, while the One to Watch award, worth £5,000, went to Rui Bauhofer from Mozambique for Eco-Plates, biodegradable plates made from recycled maize husks infused with seeds that grow when discarded.
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