Africa innovates Magazine -AI4DEV - Flipbook - Page 59
J O S H U A O P O K U A GY E M A N G ( G h a n a )
THE TECH
PRODIGY
H A C K Co ro n a V D E V I C E S
When COVID-19 hit Ghana, 27-year-old Joshua Opoku Agyemang, and his team
at the Internet of Things (IoT) Hub in Accra, did not come up with just one mitigating solution, they invented three! Under the umbrella term “Hack CoronaV”
they have so far developed: Touchless Washing Buckets; 3-D Printed Reusable and
Recyclable Facemasks; and an AI-powered Smart Home System.
W H AT I N S P I R E D YO U TO
C R E AT E YO U R P R O D U C T S ?
We came up with a range of products. First, is the touchless washing bucket, which has sensors attached to it that
senses the hands and automatically opens the tap for you
without one having to touch it. Second, is the 3D printed
reusable and recyclable Facemask, shield and mask trap.
We were inspired by 3-D printing technology and its
endless possibilities in printing 3-dimensional objects in
helping to fight COVID-19 in Ghana and Africa. Third, is
the Smart Home System, which is able to control lights,
switches, sockets, elevators and appliances with an app
on the phone without touching surfaces. Our aim is to
create more touchless solutions.
W H AT H A S B E E N T H E I M PA C T
O F YO U R P R O D U C T S ?
We have over 1,000 orders, with people waiting to purchase the products. We have also created about 20 jobs
and we are hoping to create about 200 jobs when we
begin mass production. We have also been featured on a
number of television and radio stations.
W H AT A R E T H E C H A L L E N G E S
TO P R O D U C I N G O R D E P LOY I N G
YO U R P R O D U C T S ?
Limited resources and materials for production which
were due to the lockdown closures, including borders – so
no imports came from from outside. We were also unable
to move into our hub, so production is spread out across
various locations with bedrooms and porches being
converted.
W H AT H E L P W O U L D YO U N E E D
TO S C A L E U P A N D I M P R OV E
YO U R I N N OVAT I O N S ?
Financial resources to scale up production including
getting large amounts of materials. We also need to get a
production location, which can also store our equipment
and materials.
W H AT A R E YO U R H O P E S FO R
T H E F U T U R E O F YO U R I N N OVA T I O N A N D YO U R B U S I N E S S ?
My hope is to get these touchless buckets to every household, school, church and office in Ghana and even Africa.
I strongly believe that regular handwashing should be a
lifestyle. Post COVID-19 and in the next decade, my hope
is to create over 100,000 jobs with my innovations.
SHOWCASING AFRICAN INNOVATION 59
