Innovation summit kicks off in Ethiopia

One of Africa`s largest ICT gatherings got underway in Ethiopia on Tuesday with the kick-off of the Innovation Africa Digital Summit, in the capital, Addis Ababa, IT News Africa reports.

Now in its 10th year, the summit aims to promote digital connectivity across all spectrums to the benefit of Africa as a whole. The event will also provide a platform for Ethiopia to share more details on the country`s plans to develop one of Africa`s largest and most ambitious ICT parks.

According to Peace FM Online, at the event, two North African innovators came tops at the first ever Innovation Prize for Africa, sweeping both prizes at stake.

The $100 000 first prize went to Egyptian Mohammed Sanad, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, in Egypt. The $50 000 second prize went to Algerian chemist, Zeinou Abdelyamine.

Sanad developed a low-cost, lightweight, low wind-load, foldable/deployable, multi-broadband base station antenna using dual parabolic cylindrical reflectors with novel, small broadband resonant feeds, The East African writes.

Adelyamine developed an environmentally friendly insecticide and rodenticide.

Seven entries from a total of 458 from 39 African countries were submitted as finalists for the inaugural awards, designed to promote the pursuit of science, technology and engineering careers among young African men and women, and especially to develop innovative solutions with a great potential for commercialisation.