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A Kenyan entrepreneur, Elly Savatia, has won this year’s Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation for developing Terp 360, a groundbreaking app that translates speech into sign language using AI-powered 3D avatars.
The innovation, which Savatia describes as “Google Translate for sign language,” takes speech and text input and outputs photorealistic avatars signing in real time. The web-based app aims to break communication barriers between deaf and hearing individuals, allowing interaction without the need for human interpreters.
Savatia received the £50,000 ($67,000) grand prize on October 16 from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering, which runs the annual competition to recognize and support African entrepreneurs developing technology-driven solutions to the continent’s challenges. His innovation was selected from four finalists across Africa by a panel of seven judges during a ceremony held in Dakar, Senegal. “The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is a way for us to support, showcase and celebrate African innovation,” said Rebecca Enonchong, chair of the judging panel. “What really stood out about Elly’s solution—and Elly himself—is the level of innovation. It shows Africans are capable of using cutting-edge technology to solve real problems, not just in Africa but globally.”
The Terp 360 AI was trained using motion sensors that captured the movements of a signer’s hands to record more than 2,300 signs and common phrases in Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). The app was developed in close collaboration with Kenya’s deaf and hard-of-hearing community to ensure accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and accessibility.
Savatia noted that deaf people in Kenya often face significant communication barriers when seeking education, healthcare, or employment, as many institutions lack sign language interpreters. Although the Kenyan government introduced a bill requiring at least 5% of jobs to be reserved for persons with disabilities, he said that many roles remain inaccessible to the deaf community due to the cost and shortage of interpreters. “Companies cannot afford interpreters, and they just don’t have the tools to integrate these people effectively,” Savatia explained. “We see ourselves as an enabler. We are able to do sign language, but at scale.”
While other avatar-based sign language technologies exist globally, Terp 360 stands out because it is tailored for African sign languages and cultural contexts. There are over 300 sign languages worldwide, with about 30 used across Africa. Currently, Terp 360 supports translations from English and Swahili into Kenyan Sign Language, with plans underway to add Rwandan, Ugandan, South African, British, and American Sign Languages by mid-2027.
To achieve this expansion, Savatia’s team is partnering with local NGOs, visual sign language projects, and media houses that have sign language archives. The developers have also established a motion capture studio in Nairobi, capable of recording and processing 1,000 new signs daily. “One of the key judging criteria is social impact,” Enonchong emphasized. “We look for solutions that go beyond creating wealth to truly transforming lives. Assistive technologies like Terp 360 are crucial and often underserved—not just in Africa, but globally.”
With Terp 360, Savatia is proving that inclusive innovation can bridge communication gaps and empower millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals—not just in Kenya, but across Africa and beyond.