Ugandan engineer takes Africa's top innovation award

Uganda’s Anatoli Kirigwajjo is the founder and CEO of Yunga, a local digital security network that enhances neighbour-to-neighbour safety. He was recently awarded "The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation" dedicated to developing African innovators.

Yunga works by connecting neighbours to one other and to police within a 20km-radius - through a physical device, smartphone app or SMS service, providing security at a low cost.

The award, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK, is granted after participants go through an eight-month period of training and mentoring.

“I developed Yunga after losing $1,300 worth of assets in a break-in, with little chance of the thieves being caught. We hope that with our household networks, communities will become harder targets for criminals. This will ensure safety, which in turn will create the space for economic activities to thrive,” says Mr Kirigwajjo.

So far, Yunga has prevented over 180 cases of community crime and they have plans to expand to additional African markets like Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

This article originally appeared on BBC News.

Photo: Yunga.