History has again appreciated as a 26-year-old technology entrepreneur from Ivory Coast has become the first ever woman to win the Royal Academy of Engineering’s prestigious 2020 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.
The Nigerian Canadian Newspaper gathered that Charlette N’Guessan and her team developed BACE API, a software that uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence to verify identities remotely.
It was disclosed that the software can be integrated into existing apps and systems and is aimed at financial institutions and other industries that rely on identity verification when providing services.
The BACE API specifically uses live images or short videos taken on phone cameras to detect whether the image is of a real person, or a photo of an existing image.
Local reports stated that N’Guessan and her co-founders developed the software in 2018 after research they did during their studies revealed that Ghana’s banks have a significant problem with identity fraud and cybercrime. The research estimated that approximately $400 million is spent annually by Ghanaian financial institutions to identify their customers.
The award winning app is already being used by two financial institutions to verify customers’ identities, and the software is being tested on an event platform to confirm attendee registrations.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It awards crucial commercialization support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.
An eight-month period of tailored training and mentoring culminates in a showcase event where a winner is selected to receive £25,000 along with three runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.
The Africa Prize is generously supported by The Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund and the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.
Judges and mentors of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation have provided over 1,970 hours of support to entrepreneurs since the prize was established – this equates to a value of roughly £985,000 in support. This year, they are:
The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. “In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public,” it stated on its official website.
