Nigerian engineer wins Africa Prize for medical monitoring platform

Mamane Kabirou Ousseini became the first engineer from Niger to enter and win the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, taking home £50,000 for Likita Care at a Johannesburg ceremony on Oct. 28, 2026. The platform is already in use across five medical centres in Niger and is being prepared for wider rollout in West Africa.

Why it matters: - Likita Care is designed to help healthcare workers in resource-limited settings access reliable patient data in real time. - The platform addresses a common failure point in low-resource hospitals: imported monitoring devices that break down and cannot be easily repaired locally. - The win gives Mamane Kabirou Ousseini funding and visibility to commercialise the product in Niger and expand beyond it.

What happened: - Mamane Kabirou Ousseini won the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation and received the £50,000 top award. - The award was presented at a ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by former rugby player and entrepreneur Bryan Habana. - Ousseini is the first engineer from Niger to participate in and win the Africa Prize. - The prize is delivered by the Royal Academy of Engineering and part funded by the UK Government’s International Science Partnerships Fund.

The details: - Likita Care is an integrated medical monitoring platform that combines connected hardware, clinical software and local digital manufacturing. - The system supports patient, cardiac and prenatal monitoring. - A central dashboard lets healthcare workers monitor multiple patients at once. - An embedded AI module helps interpret vital signs in real time. - Ousseini developed the platform after repeatedly seeing imported monitoring devices fail in Niger’s hospitals because spare parts and specialist support were not available locally. - More than 70 monitoring units have been produced and deployed in Niger. - The system is now used across five medical centres. - The platform was tested with more than 100 patients and more than 4,000 data points were collected. - Ousseini plans to use the prize money to commercialise Likita Care in Niger and prepare for expansion into neighbouring West African markets. - The four finalists pitched to a live audience and judging panel at NH Johannesburg Sandton. - Anglo American and the British High Commission in South Africa supported the ceremony. - The finalists came from a cohort of 16 entrepreneurs who completed an eight-month training and mentoring programme. - The judging panel was chaired by Rebecca Enonchong FREng and included Sewu-Steve Tawia, Yewande Odumosu, Ian Shott FREng, Dr Richard Wylde FREng and guest judge Neo Hutiri. - Judges evaluated engineering strength, evidence of impact, commercial viability, scale potential, team quality, application of programme learning and clarity of future vision.

Between the lines: - The prize is not just a cash award. The judging panel highlighted mentoring, communications support and access to networks as part of the broader value for finalists and alumni. - The outcome also points to a broader push for locally maintainable health technology in markets where imported equipment often creates dependence. - The Africa Prize continues to position engineering innovation as a route to jobs, scale and measurable public benefit.

What's next: - Ousseini will work to commercialise Likita Care in Niger and move into nearby West African markets. - Applications for the next Africa Prize cycle will open in mid-2027. - Prospective applicants can use the How to Apply guide on the Africa Prize website for more information. - Organisations and individuals interested in supporting the programme can contact the Academy at africaprize@raeng.org.uk.

The bottom line: - A Nigerien-built medical monitoring platform that solves a local maintenance problem has now become one of Africa’s top engineering success stories.