South African innovator Ludger Peters has been named a finalist in the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) Young Innovators' Competition.
The competition focuses on young social entrepreneurs seeking to change the world with technology, according to the ITU.
“Open to young social entrepreneurs, between ages 18 and 25, from around the world, the competition seeks innovative digital solutions in the form of initial concepts or early-stage projects meeting real-world development challenges within the core theme of 'Youth Innovation for Development'.”
It named 12 finalists in the competition, including Peters' project that aims to address the issue of counterfeit medicine.
The finalists will head to ITU Telecom World 2012, a global networking and knowledge-sharing event in Dubai, 14-18 October.
Young innovation
“From nearly 400 entries, from 77 countries worldwide, 12 submissions were selected as having the greatest possible social impact and potential for business success within each category, demonstrating both the breadth of young innovation geographically and the depth of technological applications,” says the ITU.
Other finalists hail from Oman, Uruguay, the US, Brazil, Slovakia, UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, India and two from Kenya.
Their projects include sign-language learning programs, online journalism platforms, waste management using ICT sensors, and secure online authentication systems.
Chronic fight
Peters is currently doing an internship with SAP Research in Pretoria. He says his project addresses the millennium development goal of providing access to affordable, essential drugs in developing countries. He also says the fight against chronic diseases, especially in developing regions, is greatly hampered by a new wave of counterfeit medicines.
“The WHO [World Health Organisation] estimates that up to 1% of medicines available in the developed world are more likely to be counterfeit. This figure is estimated to be approximately 10% globally, although in some developing countries it increases exponentially to about 50%. The WHO estimates that more than 50% of medicines available via the Internet are counterfeit.”
The finalist explains that the best that can possibly be done now that the pharmaceutical supply chain has been contaminated with counterfeit medication, is for technology to help consumers identify the counterfeit drugs, manage their medication intake, and help save lives.
Change the world
“We, a team of researchers at SAP Research Pretoria, have coined the 'in Your Pocket (iYP) concept placeholder for a diverse portfolio of mobile apps such as Business in Your Pocket (BiYP), Transport in Your Pocket (TiYP), and Health in Your Pocket (HiYP) - aimed at providing solutions to help detect counterfeit medicine within the emerging economies context.”
Peters explains that unlike other text-based systems, like M-Pedigree or Original1, this app uses Quick Response codes to verify the authenticity of medicine using the supplier's back-end systems, to help stop the circulation of counterfeit medicine.
“After establishing the authenticity of the medicine, our app then helps the patient to monitor, manage and track their medication intake. Our innovative app provides an all-in-one solution that detects and identifies counterfeit medicine and helps ensure medication adherence; therefore giving back more money to the rightful pharmaceutical industry where it belongs.
“I am committed to seeing the HiYP project reaching the commercialisation phase and helping change the world.”
Human ingenuity
At ITU Telecom World, the finalists will receive one-on-one mentorship sessions with high-level industry representatives, hands-on workshop training to develop entrepreneurial skills, and the opportunity to showcase their projects to the event's audience.
“Networking and building relationships with leading ICT stakeholders from industry, government and academia will provide the young innovators with exposure, support and investment to move their projects forward and realise their visions. The finalists will also be competing for up to CHF5 000 [R44 000] prize money for great concepts, and up to CHF10 000 for innovative projects,” says the ITU.
ITU secretary-general Hamadoun Tour'e says successful innovation rests on combining technology with human ingenuity.
“This competition enables young digital innovators to demonstrate their ideas for tackling development issues, and commitment to changing the world, on a truly global stage. Let us not forget that the young social entrepreneurs of today are the business, government and technology leaders of tomorrow.”
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