Kenyan Innovator Wins Top Engineering Prize for AI Speech-to-Sign Language Translation

Technology Updated: 27 October 2025 14:13 EAT

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Kenyan innovator Elly Savatia has been awarded the highly esteemed 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for developing Terp 360, a significant technological breakthrough. This innovative application leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to instantly translate real-time speech into sign language using lifelike 3D avatars.

Elly Savatia, a 24-year-old inventor, technology optimist, and social entrepreneur, currently leads Signvrse as its Founder and CEO. Signvrse is an assistive technology social enterprise focused on eliminating communication gaps between the hearing and Deaf communities. By employing AI and 3D avatars, Signvrse aims to create an inclusive digital space where Deaf individuals can participate with confidence in areas like education, healthcare, employment, and public life.

Savatia's invention directly confronts a major obstacle across the continent: the chronic shortage of qualified sign language interpreters. By offering a low-cost, automated alternative, Terp 360 promises to dramatically enhance accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in essential environments, including schools, workplaces, and public service settings. A key factor in its success is its high degree of accuracy; the tool is built upon a specialized dataset containing more than 2,300 locally recorded signs, ensuring the translations are both culturally and linguistically precise for African contexts.

The award, bestowed by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is recognized as Africa’s most prestigious engineering prize. Along with the honor, Savatia receives a substantial £50,000 grant (approximately KSh 8.6 million) earmarked specifically for scaling the innovation. This victory also serves as a major testament to Kenya’s burgeoning technology scene, which is increasingly focusing on developing assistive and inclusive digital tools.

Savatia expressed deep gratitude, viewing the achievement as validation for the innovative assistive technology work emerging from Africa. The team behind Terp 360 has clear expansion plans, aiming to penetrate the education, corporate, and healthcare markets - sectors that serve large populations of hearing-impaired individuals.

Savatia’s exceptional contributions have earned him numerous accolades previously, including recognition as a 2024 Mandela Washington Fellow, Presidential Innovation Award Winner, and Commonwealth Secretary General’s Award for Innovation, among others. His ultimate motivation stems from technology's profound ability to break down barriers and help society unlock accessibility for good beyond East Africa.