Lending a hand to innovators

Twelve years ago, a group of people applied cutting-edge technology to develop a 3D prosthetic hand, which led to them being shortlisted as finalists for this year’s SA Innovation Summit Cup, an annual flagship event showcasing African innovation.

The hand is still in its development phase and will be available to the market by 2023 for about R25,000 – a fraction of the price for similar products.

Project leader and biomedical engineer Abdul-Khaaliq Mohamed said: “Similar-functioning prosthetic hands cost R500,000.

“We have encountered many people who are in wheelchairs or have lost limbs and empathise with them. Our education and professional journeys have led us to strive to help such people as we are passionate about making a difference.”

The robotic prosthesis is attached to the biceps and triceps of an amputee and responds to neural impulses from the user’s brain. It senses the intention of users, allowing them to hold objects, as well as do intricate tasks, like tie shoelaces.

According to SA Innovation Summit chairperson Audrey Verhaeghe, the finalists will pitch their businesses to a panel of judges on the final day of a three-day summit, from September 11 to 13, and the winner will receive a R5 million prize.

The Cup has 11 finalists from a range of categories, including fintech, big data, social entrepreneurship and healthcare.

“The healthcare industry is ripe for disruption and investors should be looking to the next generation of innovators for the ideas that will transform our continent,” said Verhaeghe.

She said over 80% of startups at the summit were from the continent and the majority had a revenue of less than R2 million.

“The technology and startup space is underfunded in Africa, yet it yields the greatest results in any economy over time.

“In the UK every pound spent on innovation and tech startups yields nine to the economy. Africa still needs to leverage this potential return.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.