Eight Entrepreneurs from Africa and Eight from the Americas Selected for Premier Social Innovation Hardware Accelerator, with Virtual Awards Ceremony set for August 11

2026 ASME ISHOW Africa and ISHOW Americas ventures provide solutions to address agriculture, energy, environmental, food storage, healthcare, recycling, and drinking water challenges


NEW YORK (August 7, 2026) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional venture finalists for the 2026 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight social ventures from Africa and eight from the Americas have pitched their innovative solutions and participated in extensive design and engineering reviews with industry experts online between July 6 and August 6. These 16 ventures will vie for six spots in the 2026 ISHOW global cohort, offering a share of grant awards, access to ASME’s network of experts, and technical support to help bring their impactful innovations to market. The virtual awards ceremony, featuring guest speaker Jit Bhattacharya of e-mobility start-up BasiGo of Africa, takes place Tuesday, August 11, at noon Eastern Daylight Time. Register here. 

The ASME ISHOW Africa and ISHOW Americas ventures provide affordable, sustainable hardware technology solutions to agriculture, energy, environmental, food storage, healthcare, recycling, and drinking water challenges. They are: 

• AISHA (Bethlehem, Pa., USA) for its “Artificial Intelligence Strengthening Healthcare Access” solution – an AI-powered voice assistant deployed on low-cost hardware that provides healthcare information to patients and healthcare workers in underserved communities
• BMTA&C Energy (Paris and Benguerir, Morocco) for its “Clean, Solar, Smart Refrigeration” technology – a low-carbon refrigeration solution that combines solar energy, thermal storage, and intelligent energy management to deliver reliable cooling while expanding cold-chain access and reducing emissions
• Ecomobilus Technologies Limited (Nairobi, Kenya) for its “e-Mkoko” -- a solar-powered electric handcart designed for last-mile logistics, enabling informal traders to move goods more efficiently while reducing physical labor
• KilimoChills Solution (Nairobi, Kenya) for its “solar-powered cold storage room” – a modular, solar-powered cold storage solution that reduces post-harvest losses and helps small-scale food vendors
• Kumva Insights (Kigali, Rwanda) for its “Farm Smarter Platform” – an IoT device that utilizes a wide array of different sensors to collects and analyzes environmental and operational data to help farmers and agribusinesses improve productivity, reduce waste, and increase profitability
• Orienta (Nairobi, Kenya) for its “HVAD” technology – smart glasses that empower visually impaired individuals to navigate streets, identify people, and access information independently through an offline, hands-free assistive platform
• Team CannaSave (Kampala, Uganda) for its “CannaSave” system – a low-cost, real-time monitoring system that detects neonatal nasal cannula displacement and alerts caregivers, helping ensure continuous oxygen delivery in resource-constrained healthcare settings
• Yaaka Investment Limited (Kitwe, Zambia) for its “Yaaka E-waste recycling plant” – a sustainable e-waste recycling solution that recovers valuable materials from discarded electronics, reducing pollution, supporting the circular economy, and creating green jobs

• Aetheria (Maastricht, The Netherlands) for its “MonoFoam” innovation – a mobile system designed to capture gases from end-of-life insulation foam while enabling the recovery of materials for reuse and recycling
• Amel Energy (Amherst, Mass., USA) for its “Amel Materials” – a PFAS-free binder and solvent platform developed as an alternative to conventional materials used in lithium-ion battery manufacturing
• H2O Now, Inc. (Wrenshall, Minn., USA) for its “Portable Water Generator” – a system that uses solar power and refrigeration technology to provide potable and agricultural water in water-scarce environments
• Kinnections (Houston, Texas, USA) for its “Kinnections Glove” – a wearable that uses controlled fingertip vibrations and is designed to support individuals living with Parkinson’s disease
• NeoTex (Kingston, RI, USA) for its “Smart Onesie Technology” – a wearable infant garment with integrated sensors designed to monitor vital signs and support caregivers in tracking infant health
• Ocean Made (Seattle, Wash., USA) for its “Kelp Pots” -- biodegradable nursery pots designed to reduce plastic products and synthetic chemicals used in plant growing operations
• Tap Energy (Erie., Colo., USA) for its “Streamline” system – an in-pipe micro-hydroelectric turbine system designed to capture excess pressure from industrial water lines and convert it into electricity
• WeavAir (Toronto, Canada) for its “WeavAir” system – a monitoring platform designed to collect environmental and infrastructure data to support asset management and climate risk monitoring.

The 2026 ISHOW cohort will be invited to participate in the annual ISHOW Bootcamp in the winter to receive an extensive and customized design and engineering review by experts curated to guide them as they scale to market. They will also receive design services to support their product development. They become part of the ISHOW alumni network, an international community of hardware innovators and stakeholders with exclusive access to experts and resources.

The ASME ISHOW India event will be held September 3-4 alongside the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE) in Chennai, India. The ventures selected from each of the three regional events will join the ISHOW 2026 global cohort.

ASME is grateful to its implementation partners and sponsors around the globe, including The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW and a multi-year strategic investment in ASME to support the hardware impact innovation system. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.



About ASME ISHOW
The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. ASME annually matches up to 30 carefully selected innovators/ventures with appropriate engineering experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. To date, ASME has provided support to over 250 startups from more than 35 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address key issues related to clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that advance the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. 

ASME ISHOW judges and facilitators include experts in research, sustainability, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy, representing industry, nonprofit organizations, and academia. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s five key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, implementation strategy, and impact. For more information, visit https://www.thisishardware.org.


Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including GenH, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.

@ASMEISHOW  #ASMEISHOW26  #innovation  #socialventures  #ThisIsHardware


About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges.  Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) II & III LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community. For more information, visit www.asme.org. 

About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life.  For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.


 

Media Contact:
Monica Shovlin
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