Despite decades of colonialism and slavery and war, people in Africa have remained resilient. On this Africa Day, we take a look at the life-changing inventions by African people.
Mathematics
The first methods of counting was developed on the continent. Egyptians, over 35,000 years ago, scripted math textbooks which included the division and multiplication of fractions. It also explained how to calculate the volume and area of shapes. The textbooks delved into algebraic equations and mathematically-based predictions on the size of the floods of the Nile River.
The early people in present-day Zaire developed their own numeration system. As did the Yoruba people in present-day Nigeria. This system was based on units of 20, not 10.
Iron smelting
Today metals are used in crafting so many things: cars, fridges, planes, buildings and tools. And people in ancient Africa were smelting iron over 2,500 years ago. The Haya people in present-day Tanzania produced carbon steel long before it was made in Europe. Nigeria’s Nok people is also credited with being the first in Africa to develop iron smelting.
Medicine
To this day, modern people in Africa and around the world are using medicines based on the practices of ancient peoples throughout Africa. Some practices include using sap from the Aloe plant as a laxative or topical skin healing treatment. The indigenous San and Khoi peoples of Southern Africa used the Devil’s Claw plant as a treatment for inflammation, cholera and headaches. Ancient Egyptians were also the first to perform surgeries.
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Modern day inventions in Africa
Majik Water (Kenya)
CEO Beth Koigi was forced to buy “dirty, contaminated water” during her time at university. Thus, Koigi – from Kenya – created her own water filter that harvests water from the air. Over the past years, reads the website, the Majik Water team has sold over 5,000 filters in Kenya. The all-in-one system harvest, stores and then disperses the water. This African technology is a godsend to people living in dry, arid parts of the continent.
Cardiopad (Cameroon)
inventor Arthur Zang from Cameroon created the very first touch screen medical tablet. The Cardiopad works by taking a reading of the heart, and sending it off to a specialist. It allows health workers to conduct heart examinations in rural and inaccessible regions, and send results to specialists far away. Zang’s invention received the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2016.
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Pelebox (South Africa)
When Neo Hutiri was diagnosed with Tuberculosis in 2014, he found that one of the biggest challenges of his treatment was waiting in unbearably long lines at his local clinic. He and his team developed Pelebox, a smart locker system designed to dispense chronic medicine to regular patients. The technology would cut down long queues at the clinic, and ease the pressure on clinic resources.
BACE API (Ghana)
BACE API verifies identities remotely and almost immediately through AI and facial recognition. It uses live images from the user’s device or a short video, rather than a still image. This use of live images is what makes BACE API unique. This method also improves the success rate in verifying identities. Inventor, Charlette N’Guessan, made headlines in 2020 as she became the first woman ever to win the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.
