For the first time ever, a Malawian has been shortlisted for the prestigious Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, after Catherine Chaima developed Cathel, an antibacterial soap made from agricultural waste and other plant-based extracts.

Her innovative product stands amidst other 16 others from across sub-Saharan Africa, and other countries represented include Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. Chaima stands a chance to win £25,000 while three runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.

Cathel is an anti-bacterial soap created from natural agricultural waste and local ingredients using indigenous knowledge. Chaima grew up in rural Malawi, where groundnuts, cassava, banana and rice are popular crops which she used to make her soap. Cassava peels and groundnut shells, make powerful composting material. As a chemical engineering student, Chaima turned her attention to the hidden properties of these agricultural by-products. When she discovered that the leaves, shells and peels could be used to produce potassium hydroxide, the idea of Cathel soap was born.