Five groundbreaking young African tech innovators you should know

Brian Gitta

Ugandan, 2018 WINNER (with his team)

Gitta invented Matibabu, a medically non-invasive device that detects malaria in two minutes. The malaria deaths statistics are stacked against Africans. Nine out of ten of the 400,000 global deaths due to malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of these deaths are in children below five. Malaria kills more children under five in this region than HIV.

Gitta’s invention is a device which tests malaria quickly accurately and without having to draw blood. It is a low-cost, reusable device that clips onto the user’s finger. Gitta and his colleagues developed this device after contracting malaria several times and missing lectures as a result.

Matibabu uses red light to detect changes in the shape, colour and concentration of red blood cells, all of which are affected by malaria. The results are shown within one minute on a mobile phone that’s linked to the device.

The goal for Gitta and the team is to set up the device on the streets to allow people to buy a single test at a time. They are also working on bulk production to sell to individuals, health institutions and diagnostic suppliers.