A bioethanol system that turns agricultural waste into clean fuel, a low-cost AI device for rapid malaria diagnosis, and sterile dressings made with honey and olive oil to treat surgical wounds have earned three African startups a place in the 2025 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) cohort. The winning ventures were chosen from eight finalists following a virtual pitch and engineering review held June 10–12.
The selected ventures are developing affordable, locally driven solutions to challenges in energy, healthcare, and agriculture:
These 2025 ASME ISHOW Africa ventures’ innovations provide affordable, sustainable hardware technology solutions to agricultural, energy, and healthcare challenges. They are:
CIST East Africa Industries Limited (Kisumu, Kenya) for its “CIST-Second Generation Bioethanol Fuel Micro Distillery System” – a solution capable of converting waste cellulose biomass including sugar cane bagasse and water hyacinth into 95% ethanol, blended and stabilized as a cooking fuel and transport energy
I-Dress (at CAMTech Uganda-Mbarar, a University of Science and Technology) for its “I-Dress” solution – an affordable, sterile wound dressing made from gauze infused with honey and olive oil, designed to prevent infection and accelerate healing for post-cesarean wounds in low-resource settings
MariTest Africa (Kampala, Uganda) for its “MariTest” – a non-invasive, AI-powered diagnostic device for rapid malaria detection and monitoring designed for frontline health workers in remote settings without access to lab facilities.
The three ventures will receive seed grants, product design support, and entry to a global network of ISHOW alumni. Later this year, they’ll take part in a technical bootcamp with engineering and business experts to improve designs and other technical aspects of the product, and strengthen their business strategies.
ISHOW Africa is one of three regional events hosted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) as part of its annual program. Winners from Africa, India (April), and the Americas (July 29–31) will form the full 2025 ISHOW cohort.
Since its launch, ISHOW has supported more than 250 startups in over 35 countries. The program focuses on hardware that is environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable, aligning with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
Learn more about the ventures, their innovations and ASME ISHOW Africa at thisishardware.org.
This article is adapted from a press release by ASME ISHOW. Engineering for Change is a part of ASME’s Engineering for Sustainable Development division.
