Mamane Kabirou Ousseini wins Africa Prize for Likita Care

Nigerien engineer Mamane Kabirou Ousseini has won the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering. He received £50,000 for Likita Care, a medical monitoring platform designed to function in resource-limited environments.

Likita Care utilizes connected monitoring devices, clinical software, and an artificial intelligence module to track 12 vital-sign indicators for adults, newborns, and fetuses. The system is specifically designed to be affordable, robust, and repairable locally, addressing the frequent maintenance issues associated with imported medical equipment. The platform includes a central dashboard for simultaneous patient monitoring and offline AI decision support for areas with unreliable internet.

Ousseini is the first engineer from Niger to win the competition. More than 70 monitoring units have been produced, and the technology has been deployed in five medical centers following successful trials. The prize money will be used to industrialize production and facilitate expansion into neighboring West African markets.