Government has lined up three rural-based young innovators to showcase their work at the first ever World Creativity and Innovation Day scheduled to take place at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) on Tuesday this week.
The chosen innovators are among the 10 who were awarded MK10 million grants by the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) in November 2023.
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is expected to lead the nation in commemorating the day, which will feature exhibitions highlighting Malawian innovations and panel discussions, among others.
NCST Director General Gift Kadzamira confirmed the development in an interview on Monday, saying this is a great motivation and an opportunity for the innovators to showcase their work to the world.
Kadzamira disclosed that through its Science and Technology Fund, the Commission has been providing financing to innovators by way of loan or grants by or for the benefit of persons or organizations engaged in research matters relating to the development of science and technology.
She added that the Commission also provides awards to any person qualified for the grant to him of an award under the Science and Technology Act of 2003.
“As a Commission, we are very excited because this contributes to the realization of one of the enablers of Malawi 20263 agenda, which is industrialization. The MW2063 emphasizes the need for our industrialization to be driven by research, science and technology development in order to become and remain productive, innovative and highly competitive at regional and global levels. Hence, this is a great opportunity for our young innovators to demonstrate to the world that Malawi has talent that, if well nurtured and supported, it can translate into job and wealth creation for not only Malawians, but also the whole world,” she said.
Sources at the Capital Hill indicated that Benedicto Kankhulungo and Chisomo Daka are among the innovators to exhibit their work
Kankhulungu comes from Machinga and is the producer of a Unified Electrical Power Amplifier (UEPA), which has potential to amplify electrical power from different sources like solar panel, battery, and others, by a factor of more than one UEPA can be used in lighting’s circuit, powerpoint circuit where different gadgets can be fed from.
UEPA can also help in different farming systems like powering irrigation water pumps.
On the other hand, Chisomo Daka is the founder and Chief Executive Officer for Daka Space Technologies (DST).
He innovated DSTSpace-Watt, which is an emerging innovative wireless power technology gadget poised to transform the way we think about charging and powering our electric devices.
Space-Watt leverages advanced resonance-based technology to transmit electrical power efficiently over substantial distances, offering users unprecedented convenience and versatility.
In a brief interview, Daka expressed excitement and gratitude for being recognized by the government ministries, departments and agencies.
“I am really excited and feel grateful to the government for this opportunity. I wish to assure NCST and all Malawians that I will not disappoint them at the exhibition,” he reacted.
