Illuminium Greenhouses from Kenya is the winner of the Ericsson Innovation award for sub-Saharan Africa.
Competing under the theme “Future of Food”, the team won Sh 1 million (USD 10,000) for their smart greenhouse concept that uses sensors and mobile technology.
Illuminum Greenhouses creates a limitless integrated modern greenhouse with sensors that monitor temperature, humidity, soil moisture and most importantly regulate the water supply which is channelled through drip lines and linked to the farmer’s mobile phone.
The system self-regulates the soil moisture by irrigating when necessary and at the same time measuring the amount of water being irrigated. This data is pushed to a cloud system via SMS or GPRS and analysed by the Illuminum Greenhouses team to provide predictive information on proper water management allowing farmers to save up to 60 percent of their water bills.
Taita Ngetich, Co-founder of Illuminum Greenhouses says: “Our team is extremely proud to have won this award. It is a real boost to us and will enable the internet of things further penetrate and reach the base of pyramid farmers across the region. Water management is key to agriculture across sub-Saharan Africa and we are happy we can play a role in this by minimising wastage using solar-powered sensors.”
This year’s competition attracted 99 entries from thirteen countries across the region.
Innovation hubs, universities, start-ups and SME’s were invited to enter applications and ICT solutions that impact the agricultural value chain in an innovative way.
Ericsson Kenya Managing Director, Aakaash Sehgal says: “We are once again proud as Ericsson to stimulate and reward ICT innovation in the region through the Ericsson Innovation Awards. It is also appropriate that the winning solution confronts the issue of water scarcity using cloud and mobile technology, cornerstones of Ericsson’s technology leadership.”
The winning team also got an entry into the Ericsson global Innovation Awards that takes place in early 2017.