• Elly Savatia honored in Dakar for Terp 360, an AI-powered sign language app.
• His company Signvrse develops inclusive tech for the deaf community.
• Award includes £50,000 ($67,000) from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering.

Kenyan inventor and social entrepreneur Elly Savatia has won the Africa 2025 Engineering Innovation Prize awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom. The announcement was made on October 16 in Dakar. He received the award for Terp 360, an artificial intelligence–based application that translates speech into sign language, along with a £50,000 ($67,000) grant.

Terp 360 provides real-time sign language interpretation, enabling seamless communication between deaf and hearing individuals in both physical and digital environments. The solution uses 3D avatars and motion-capture technology to deliver fluid, accessible interaction.

The innovation is the flagship product of Signvrse, a company co-founded and led by Savatia. Established in 2023, the startup leverages AI and inclusive design to remove communication barriers faced by the deaf community. It integrates real-time sign language into digital platforms to improve access to education, healthcare, and public services.

Beyond entrepreneurship, Savatia is the founder and president of Innovate 4 SDGs, a nonprofit that mobilizes youth around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He is also a One Young World ambassador and a member of the Youthtopia Circle, a network promoting youth leadership and civic engagement.

Before creating Signvrse, Savatia co-founded Veezaviz in 2021, a startup focused on assistive communication technologies for the deaf and hearing communities, where he served as CEO until 2022.

He previously worked as a project manager at School for a Village, an organization supporting access to science and technology education in underprivileged schools. In 2023, he joined Swift Lab Ltd, a medical logistics company using drones to deliver supplies to remote areas.

Savatia’s work has earned multiple honors, including the Artificial Intelligence for Africa Challenge (2022) by UK Tech Hub, the Kenya Drone Business Competition Challenge (2023) by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Award.