The Hand That Grows With You

Hey,

If you look closely at Africa’s health-tech scene, a pattern will emerge: when there’s a gap, someone is building a solution.

In Nigeria, RxAll helps people check if their medicine is real or fake in seconds.

In South Africa, Envisionit Deep AI helps hospitals read medical scans faster, even when there aren’t enough specialists.

This week, we’re looking at another gap with real consequences: prosthetics.

For most Africans, losing a limb means losing their place in society

Every year, 1.5 million people globally undergo an amputation. 

And in Africa, 9 out of 10 of them will never get a prosthetic.

For them, losing a limb isn’t a medical event.

It can mean a life of limited opportunities, social isolation, or worse.

The real culprit isn't just the amputation. It's the solution.

Especially if they cost as much as $100,000.

In middle-lower income countries, only 5%-15% of amputees can afford modern prosthetic devices.

But this isn’t just a pricing problem.

It’s a design problem too.

Modern prosthetics models are built for a world of insurance, stable electricity, and easy access to specialists.

They’re built for a world that, for millions of Africans, doesn’t exist.

So what if the solution isn't just to make prosthetics cheaper?

What if we could build hands that grow?

A static fix for a dynamic continent

In rural Africa, most prosthetics remain simple.

Wooden legs and plastic arms fill the gap.

They are often built by small workshops or local craftsmen and cost far less than imported ones.

That affordability makes them the most common choice for amputees.

But these solutions offer limited support in one critical way: they can’t grow.

A child fitted with one today will outgrow it in a year.

Most Africans also work in the informal economy.

Over 80% of workers earn their living this way. Market women, traders, tailors, artisans, and drivers.

These jobs demand dexterity, strength, and a wide range of movement.

Wooden prosthetics can’t provide that.

Take a market woman, for instance.

She lost her hand in a bus accident. Now, with a wooden prosthetic, she struggles to count money or lift a basket of tomatoes.

Even at home, she struggles to do simple things.

She cannot cook, braid her daughter’s hair, or carry a bowl of water.

Wooden prosthetics are a lifeline, yes. And they are cheap too.

But they are limiting.

And modern solutions aren’t built for us

While most of Africa still depends on traditional prosthetics, the world of modern prosthetics has advanced far.

• In the United States, there are prosthetic arms that can move fingers like real hands.

• In Europe, researchers have created the first hand prosthetic controlled by thoughts and magnets.

• Some labs have even developed eye implants that restore partial vision.

But all these solutions share one problem.

They were never designed for the continent.

Why? The global prosthetics industry is built on a few assumptions that are far from our reality.

A modern bionic arm can cost anywhere from $20,000 to over $100,000, and the industry assumes you have health insurance to cover it. 

It assumes you have stable electricity to charge it. And it assumes you can drive to a specialist when it breaks.

But in much of Africa, those assumptions collapse.

• Insurance? Only 17% of Africa’s population has access to health insurance, with less than 1% covered in some countries.

• Electricity? About half of the continent’s population lacks reliable access to electricity.

• Refits? Some people live hundreds of kilometers from the nearest clinic.

That is why we import 90% of our medical devices, and many of them fail even before they fit.

Because they are designed for a world of stability.

A world with steady power, structured healthcare, and insurance that cushions the cost.

Devices that work perfectly in Europe or the United States quickly become ineffective here.

A prosthetic that needs regular charging will not survive in a village that has never had electricity.

A hand that needs constant refitting will not work for a child who lives miles from a clinic equipped for such care.

So the problem was never just access. It’s design too.

And for a long time, that was the end of the story.

Until someone decided to build it.

The hand that grows

Mohamed Dhaouafi, a young Tunisian engineer, saw the problem differently.

A system built on assumptions that are far from Africa’s reality.

And in 2017, he founded Cure Bionics to change that. His team had one goal: create prosthetics that adapt.

Their first success was the Hannibal Hand, a muscle-controlled bionic arm that can be 3D-printed locally.

The biggest challenge? Kids outgrowing their prosthetics.

Dhaouafi’s solution is a design that grows with them. 

As children grow, there is no need to replace the whole arm.
A larger socket can be 3D-printed for a fraction of the cost.

Another problem? Electricity is unreliable in many regions. 

So Cure Bionics added solar charging. 

Rehabilitation can be exhausting, too. And Mohamed’s team has that covered as well.

They created MyoLink.

It is a VR training app that helps children learn how to use their new arm through play.

They can start practicing even before the real one is ready.

But their work doesn't stop at upper-limb solutions.

Cure Bionics is also developing affordable, customizable lower-limb prosthetics, designed with the same principle: adapt to the user, not the other way around.

Every detail of the design speaks one message. You don’t need to copy anyone else to solve African problems.

You only need to understand Africa well enough to build for it.

Fit over price

This is what happens when you stop importing and start innovating.

The price drops from $100,000 to around $9,500.

Yes, it is still steep.

For many people, especially those working informal jobs, $9,500 remains far out of reach.

And many people on the streets cannot afford it.

But it is cheaper than most modern prosthetics.

And innovation will push prices even lower over time, making these solutions more accessible to a wider range of Africans.

With Cure Bionics, production is also fast. A prosthetic can be ready in as little as a month.

That makes the company one of the quickest producers on the continent.

And the world is taking notice.

Cure Bionics has been featured in Forbes Middle East and MIT Technology Review.

Global recognition reinforces that the work is serious, impactful, and built on trust.

Sales began in 2025.

And users are already feeling the difference.

Yassine, a Hannibal Bionic Arm user, said, "I never thought I needed a prosthetic until I tried one that felt right. My bionic arm gives me both function and confidence without feeling like a limitation."

This is a classic African innovation story.

It is not about outspending. It is about out-thinking.

And it gets even more interesting.

• Other African startups are rethinking healthcare too:
  Envisionit Deep AI in South Africa uses AI to democratize medical imaging.

• RxAll in Nigeria authenticates prescription drugs in seconds using AI.

• Zuri Health, a Kenyan-founded virtual hospital, connects patients to doctors through mobile apps across several African countries.

Together, they are shaping a future where African innovation is catching up and leading.

A future built on solutions that fit our people, our realities, and our needs.

The real ROI: return on independence

The future of African innovation won’t come from copying Silicon Valley’s playbook.

It will come from building solutions that understand our own reality.

Cure Bionics is already showing the way.

They are proving that the best solution isn’t always the most expensive one. 

It is the one that fits.

The takeaway? 

Don’t build for the market you wish you had.  Build for the one you do.

So, what other “static” products do you think deserve an African redesign?

Let me know here.

Today’s edition was written by Dare Ajibade, a creative content writer based in Nigeria.

That’s it for this week. See you on Sunday for a breakdown on African tech news.

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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