Kenya students win Microsoft Imagine Cup competition, USD 125K

Four computer science final year students of United States International University – Africa (USIS), Kenya, are the winners of the 2021 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship. The team wins the competition trophy, USD 125000 and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Named Team REWEBA, they become the first student team from Africa to lift the prestigious Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship trophy in its 19-year history. The student team beat three other finalist teams from New Zealand, the United States and Thailand to win the competition.

Their journey began by beating ten thousands of students entries from 163 countries to qualify for the online semifinals round. They then progressed as part of 40 teams to qualify for round one of the World Finals stage. Where two other student teams from Kenya; Cafrilearn and INTELLIVOLT qualified to compete. At the world finals stage, Team REWBA emerged winners of the healthcare category. Advancing to the World Championship which took place during Microsoft Build 2021.

The students showcased an IoT-based early warning system for babies using technologies such as Machine Learning, IoT, Analytics, etc. Their innovation, Remote Well Baby (REWEBA), remotely monitors infant parameters during regular post-natal screening. It then sends measurements to doctors remotely, allowing for immediate interventions saving infants from fatal diseases and reducing infant mortality rates.

The Kenya students; Khushi Gupta, Jeet Gohil, Dharmik Karania and Abdihamid Ali, win USD 75,000 cash, USD 50,000 Microsoft Azure grant and will get a mentoring session with Satya Nadella.

The students are planning to enhance and scale their project. They will also launch a startup in Kenya that provides better access to healthcare especially to those in marginalized areas.

Watch the World Championship below.