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Good news Africa! Bloodless malaria test now possible!!

Who would have thought decades ago that bloodless test for malaria was possible? African youths are taking the innovation industry by storm. Here’s why

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Who would have thought decades ago that bloodless test for malaria was possible? African youths are taking the innovation industry by storm. Here’s why.

A 24-year-old Ugandan software engineer has won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. Brian Gitta is the first Ugandan to win the prestigious Africa Prize, and the youngest winner to date.

Gitta and his team developed Matibabu, a device which tests for malaria without drawing blood.

Matibabu, which means ‘medical centre’ in Swahili, is a low-cost, reusable device that clips onto a patient’s finger, requiring no specialist expertise to operate. The results are available within one minute on a mobile phone that is linked to the device.

Gitta wins the first prize of UK £25,000. At an awards ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya on 13 June 2018, four finalists from across sub-Saharan Africa delivered presentations, before Africa Prize judges and a live audience voted for the most promising engineering innovation.

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It encourages talented sub-Saharan African engineers, from all disciplines, to develop innovations that address crucial problems in their communities in a new, appropriate way.

Gitta and his team decided to develop the device after missing lectures, having had malaria several times. Matibabu is currently undergoing testing in partnership with a national hospital in Uganda, and is sourcing suppliers for the sensitive magnetic and laser components required to scale up production.

Matibabu is aimed at individuals, health centres and diagnostic suppliers. The team also aims to set up the device on the streets to allow people to do a single test at a time.

Through their participation in the Africa Prize, the Matibabu team have been approached by international researchers offering support and are currently writing up their ground-breaking findings into an academic paper, to be published within the next few months.

“We are very proud of this year’s winner. It’s a perfect example of how engineering can unlock development – in this case by improving healthcare,” said Rebecca Enonchong, Africa Prize judge. “Matibabu is simply a gamechanger.”

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Tigo partners with Selcom, Mastercard, to launch online digital payment solution in Tanzania

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Tanzania’s virtual payment platform, Tigo Tanzania, has entered into a strategic partnership with Selcom and Mastercard to launch an online digital payment solution system in the country.

The three industry leaders, according to the terms of the partnership, will see them revolutionize the digital payment ecosystem in the eastern African country by enabling convenient online payments globally through the Tigo Mastercard virtual service via the Selcom’s card-as-a-service (CaaS) platform.

The virtual card allows for Tigo consumers to easily make payments at any online purchase point where Mastercard is accepted without the need for a bank account or credit card.

Tigo’s Chief Officer for Mobile Financial Services (MFS) Angelica Pesha, who made the announcement on Friday, said the launch of the virtual card will ensure Tigo’s ability to provide its customers access to products and services previously a preserve of physical credit card holders while diversifying its mobile money portfolio.

”As the leading digital lifestyle company in Tanzania, we are always on the look out for such partnerships as our customers will now be able to complete online transactions that requires Mastercard credentials, while using funds from their Tigo Pesa wallets,” she said.

“It also means that this service will allow customers to quickly and conveniently pay for goods and services in the international market.”

“Additionally, the partnership will result in a wide range of cutting-edge digital payment solutions being introduced in Tanzania and connect Tigo customers in Tanzania to a global online market place across multiple digital payment use cases and provide access to Mastercard’s global network of merchants,” Pesha said.

Selcom’s Executive Director, Sameer Hirji, who also expressed his enthusiasm for what he calls a groundbreaking collaboration, said:

“At Selcom, we take pride in our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence in the payment industry. We are thrilled to join forces with esteemed partners like Tigo Pesa and Mastercard to unveil our state-of-the-art mobile money wallet-linked virtual card.”

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Kenyan insurtech startup, Turaco, partners Airtel Money to launch low-cost hospital insurance product in Uganda

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Kenyan insurtech startup,
Turaco, has entered into a partnership with Airtel Mobile Money and Prudential Assurance Uganda, to launch a low-cost hospital cash insurance product.

Known as “Hospital Sente,” the product, according to Airtel Mobile Commerce Managing Director, Japheth Aritho, is aimed at “increasing access to insurance for underserved communities, and low-income individuals and families.”

Hospital Sente offers beneficiaries a cash pay-out if they are hospitalized as it is designed to provide affordable coverage for unserved individuals and families conveniently through Airtel’s Mobile money platform,” Aritho said in a statement on Thursday.

“We are excited to partner with Prudential Uganda to offer this innovative and affordable insurance product to our customers.”

“We believe that this partnership will help increase access to insurance for low-income households and help protect families against unexpected events,” Aritho said.

General Manager of Turaco,
Hamza Mutebi, in his statement, said:

“Most Ugandans today remain unreached by mainstream insurance, all while being the most vulnerable to financial shocks caused by illness, accidents and death.

“Strategic partnerships like these remain critical to enabling underserved Ugandans access to affordable insurance that provides a safety net in their times of need and ultimately peace of mind.”

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