By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, builds an "arc reactor" with a box of scraps while stuck inside a cave in the iconic 2008 film that started his superhero cult.
The clean energy source powers Iron Man's armour suit and helps him escape the cave's confines so that he lives to save the world another day.
Whether reel or real life, the philosopher Plato's immortal words – "Necessity is the mother of invention" – fire the human quest for solutions through ingenuity.
Dr Victor Agbégnénou, a Togolese veterinarian and serial inventor, epitomises the spirit of Stark with his constant endeavour to challenge the boundaries of innovation with new, implementable technologies in fields ranging from healthcare to telecommunication.
One of Dr Agbégnénou's patented inventions, the Polyvalent Wireless Communication System, is a pathbreaking find that enables affordable high-speed telephony and internet access without fibre-optic cables.
In a continent like Africa, where the internet is still a luxury for many, the polyvalent system is a potential game changer.
He also created the arteriovenous permutation technique, a surgical procedure performed on blood vessels.
"The technique enables arterial blood to be circulated through a venous network to irrigate an organ. This also makes it possible to drain an organ of its venous blood through an arterial network," Dr Agbégnénou tells TRT Afrika.
"The advantage is that, if necessary, arterial-end networks can be replaced by those of the patient's veins instead of borrowed or synthetic vessels. In more concrete terms, you can avoid a bypass with extracorporeal circulations, amputations, etc."
Born to invent
Joseph Nye, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, counts technological and scientific influence among the most potent tools of what he calls "smart power".
Like all great continents, Africa is also home to people with remarkable talent and genius who build on its aspiration to be a smart power.
Dr Agbégnénou, who heads the KA Technologies Group, belongs to a breed of scientists who bring recognition to Africa with their passion for innovation to make technology more straightforward and inclusive.
"I developed a love for research at a young age and was fortunate enough to pursue it. I often joke that it was the fate of research that it found me," the 50-something scientist tells TRT Afrika.
Dr Agbégnénou and his team of researchers of various nationalities run RETICE (Réseau Énergie et TIC pour l'éducation et entreprises), which aims to bridge the energy and digital divide in education.
"It's still face-to-face teaching, but the tools have changed to reduce the cost of education significantly," he explains.
RETICE's “80/20” model enables teachers and students to communicate through digital commons without an internet connection.
"This local network meets 80% of communication needs, and consequently, the needs for internet and third-party operators to communicate decrease in the same proportion. This lowers connectivity costs. The need for interconnections and the internet is reduced to less than 20%,” says Dr Agbégnénou.
A successful version of the RETICE program was officially presented in 2021 after numerous pilots had been tested and publicised worldwide.
"We started with a small project pilot called Université Sans les Murs. Our innovation was then deployed at two public universities. The positive findings led Togo to express its intention to extend the solution to all higher education institutions," says Dr Agbégnénou.
Funding challenge
While finding markets for his innovative technology solutions has been challenging, recognition and awards from institutions such as UNESCO and the African Union keep the inventor going.
"We have always struggled to finance our developments. Without a market, there is no possibility of exploitation and, therefore, no investment," he says.
Dr Agbégnénou and his colleagues are currently working on several projects, including the development of a "digital examination environment", for which he has already sought a patent.
The team is also engaged in innovation and curriculum training for executives from Togo's higher education and research ministry.
Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Senegal are among African countries that have placed orders for inventions or forged partnerships with Dr Agbégnénou's research centre. Some countries in Europe have also partnered with the centre.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
