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Neo Hutiri from Pelebox (center) with Judges John Lazar and Mariéme Jamme of the Africa Prize, as well as his new medal.
- The 31-year-old South African engineer Neo Hutiri won another prize for his Pelebox, this time the Royal Academy of Engineering's 2019 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, worth 470,000 rand. .
- The Pelebox is a smart locker that reduces waiting times for patients who are taking chronic medications.
- Hutiri plans to use the latest cash windfall to speed up manufacturing.
The 31-year-old South African engineer Néo Hutiri added another prize to the pile that his Pelebox concept has already won: the 2019 Africa Prize for Innovation in Engineering from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Hutiri is the first South African to win the prestigious medal – and the £ 25,000 (47,000,000) prize money that accompanies him – from the London-based organization.
The Pelebox is a smart locker used by patients who take chronic medications. Instead of queuing at a pharmacy, patients receive a unique PIN on their phone and use it to open a locker containing their medication.
The judges welcomed the idea of improving the living conditions of patients and those working in "a highly sought after public health system".
While waiting times for drugs may exceed three hours in some facilities, Pelebox users spend 36 seconds accessing their medications.
The lockers also help dispel the fear that a person will look at an HIV-positive patient in search of antiretroviral drugs, Hutiri told the BBC.
Six of the systems are operational and Pelebox is currently building eight more.
The mentorship badociated with the Africa Award has enabled Pelebox to move from development to manufacturing, says the Royal Academy. And he is now considering using the cash component of the price to speed up manufacturing, Hutiri explains.
After being diagnosed with tuberculosis, Hutiri proposed the concept and found himself queuing for drugs in public facilities.
Pelebox has since won an award at the Festival of Ideas and a million dollars at Hack Jozi Challenge. He is also supported by a long list of local and international business accelerators and non-profit organizations focused on society.
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