TEDGlobal: Africa needs more engineers and makers

Africa needs more engineers and makers, the head of Gearbox - Nairobi's leading maker-space - told the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania.

Kamau Gachigi said that by 2050 Africa's population is projected to have doubled and needs to build economies to sustain that level of growth.

Digital fabrications labs such as Gearbox were vital to this, he said. Such labs need to start building more Africa-specific hardware, he added. "These labs help people become more practical and more productive. We need many more people to develop their potential and contribute to society."

He spoke about how young engineer Simon Wachira had used the lab to create a robotic tool that could cut both metal and wood, which is now creating parts for car giant General Motors.

UCJ, UNILORIN.