When the pandemic reigned down on Kenya, there was a growing need to limit in-person contact while still keeping up with health ministry protocols.
9 year-old Stephen Wamukota is greatly respected in his village in western Kenya for his foot-operated washing machine.
The invention that went viral, helped curb the spread of Covid-19 in his community as it reduces the need for people to use the communal tap when washing clothes.
His invention was picked up by UNICEF, and adopted by several other smaller companies inorder to minimise contact.
The young lad has since featured among Africa’s greatest inventions in the 100th issue of the Forbes Magazine.
He was tagged along side industry’s greats, such as South African born billionaire Elon Musk.
Other Kenyans who appeared on the list was a university student from Dedan Kimathi University.
RONA – Brian Wambui
Fake news may be a thing of the past in Kenya, as Rona, the data analytics chatbot, can help clear any fact or detail that may be fabricated or confusing. Rona is the brainchild of Brian Wambui, a 21-year-old IT student at Dedan Kimathi University in Kenya. The questions are manually typed in, a feature Wambui believes is more user-friendly than the 719 Helpline and bots that provide a limited list of questions.
Anti-Jack – Morris Mbetsa
Kenyan innovator Morris Mbetsa is leading the way in anti-hijacking. Unlike the modus operandi of its competitors, Block and Track security work off an SMS system. The system lets you monitor and secure your car from a substantial distance.
Contact Tracing App – Ronald Osumba
This contact-tracing application, mSafari, supported by the Kenyan government, was created by Kenyan entrepreneur Ronald Osumba. This app requires public service vehicle operators and passengers to register on the platform and this helps trace back movements of people who test positive for Covid-19.
Hellen Obiri
As of recently, this middle-distance world 5,000m champion pushed her icon status to new heights when she was awarded the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Sports Award at the 2021 Leading Women Summit. “It has been a tough year for me and everyone around the world but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Eliud Kipchoge
In eight years, Kenyan Olympic gold-medallist and marathon world record-holder has won 11 of his 13 marathons, plus run the only sub-two-hour marathon in history in a non-world-record-eligible event.
Lupita Nyong’o
Apart from being an Oscar award-winning actor and having played multiple iconic roles that represent both being a strong black woman and an African, the Kenyan-Mexican has recently published a children’s book, Sulwe.