Intelligent Eye Glass For The Blind, a project that is channeled toward permitting persons with visual impairment to freely walk around in indoor spaces, has bagged the top 10 million FCFA award for the 2025 ICT Innovation Week organized by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.
The project which is spearheaded by Cameroonian tech youngster, Manfred Asah Agha, picked the Special Prize of the President of the Republic last Friday during the official closing ceremony of the 2025 ICT Innovation Week. The 2025 edition was held in Yaounde from Monday June 23 to Friday June 27 under the the theme “Mobilizing artificial intelligence for an ambitious digital transformation that meets the needs of our country, Cameroon.”
This was under the guidance of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, who chaired the opening and closing ceremonies of the program. Sixteen Cameroonians participated in the final phase which began with a registration period that ran from May 27 to June 16. The finalists were drafted from a pool of over 430 applicants.
Intelligent Eye Glass For The Blind shines most
Intelligent Eye Glass For The Blind grabbed the top prize after mesmerizing the jury in the final pitching phase. The project lead, Manfred Asah, told reporters at the end that the tool is designed to “permit persons with visual impairment to be able to walk around indoors without any obstacle. “The eyeglass is built to be able to detect any obstacles, be they chairs and tables and direct it user on what to do to be able to navigate his or her way through the instruments,” per the project lead. Intellibra, a project focused on a breast cancer screening tool targeting women in rural areas, secured the second prize.
It is aimed at offering women a chance to not only have access to breast cancer screening but offer them the opportunity to carry out screenings for much cheaper cost. The project is championed by young techie, Abdoul Azis. “In our country, breast cancer screening costs about 35000 FCFA. With our project, we intend to reduce the cost of breast cancer screening to 3000 FCFA and permit everyone in the country to get at least a free screening every year thereby making screening accessible,” Abdoul Azis told pressmen.
Smart Motorguard ranked third on the final classification. The scheme’s lead, Mengnemo Johan Wirdzeyii said the project is a system that protects electric motors from failure. The tool determines faults early enough and by also indicating how long vehicles can be put to use before they require maintenance, according to the project leader.
Kweekk, a socio-economic digital platform that enables individuals, group or groups of individuals, companies or businesses to take advantage of exclusive discounts on various products and services, picked the newly-introduced Best Female Innovation prize. All the laureates vowed to use the funds generated from the ICT Innovation Week program to further development their respective projects. Asah Agha of Intelligent Eye Glass For The Blind said he hopes to “improve the eyeglasses and be able to build a system of 20 prototypes for marketing,” and “solve the problem of all the 6000 persons that are living with visual impairment in Cameroon.”
The Intellibra team announced that they have plans of going fully operational by October this year, promising to offer free breast cancer test to the first 1000 women that will approach them for test after the launch. Minister Libom Li Likeng hailed the various laureates and the rest of the participants, particularly praising their “boldness and creativity.” “These young ICT innovators are our country’s hope, because they hold out the promise of a future synonymous with progress and economic vitality. It is the dream dimension that must carry you forward.” “The winners of this fourth edition of the ICT scheme are a wonderful showcase for our innovators.
It is proof of the dynamism and fertility of the start-up ecosystem in Cameroon, and that the innovation system in Cameroon augurs well for the creation of new businesses, and constitutes a future asset for our economy and our society,” the minister added at the end of the closing ceremony which was also attended by the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa.
