Sengeh, 31, studied at Harvard and MIT for his PhD where his thesis was about improving prosthetic comfort for amputees, a beneficial area of study as a citizen of a country where years of war left about 27,000 people disabled. At the time of his appointment, he was working with IBM Research Lab in Nairobi focusing on “the design and deployment of healthcare technologies in Africa.
He has also been involved with Innovate Salone, a social action project to nurture creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit among Sierra Leonean youths.
Sierra Leone is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 179th on the UN’s Human Development Index. The Ebola outbreak of 2014 and 2016 set back the marginal progress that had been made after the war and his expertise will be handy as the country rebuilds especially its health system. So, while this will not transform Sierra Leone into an innovation fortress overnight, it is a crucial step forward which should be emulated by others.