For Chimwemwe Liwonde, innovation is about creating something that brings opportunities closer to people often left behind.
The 24-year-old graduated from the National College of Information Technology with a Bachelor’s Honours degree in Computing and Information Systems with First Class.
He is the mind behind an Artificial Intelligence-powered computer eye-control system designed for people with motor disabilities.
His innovation allows people who cannot effectively use their hands to control a computer using their eyes instead of typing on keyboards, moving a mouse or pressing keys
But for people who cannot use their hands, this simple interaction can become a barrier to education, employment and full participation in society.
Liwonde wants to change that.
“Imagine having a brilliant mind, but unable to hold a pen, click a mouse, or even type on a keyboard,” he says. “For thousands of Malawians with motor disabilities, that is their reality. They drop out of school, not because of lack of intelligence, but because of physical access.”
His AI-powered eye-control system uses machine learning to enable users to operate a computer through eye movement.
Instead of depending on costly, imported, hardware-based assistive technologies, Liwonde’s software that can be installed on a personal computer and used offline.
This is important in Malawi, where internet access is low and expensive.
Liwonde wants to help someone study, write, work remotely, apply for an online opportunity or communicate more independently in a digital era when people with special needs risk being pushed further to the margins.
“Nowadays, everything is going digital,” he says. “This innovation can help people who have been digitally excluded to be connected.”
Liwonde comes from Machinga District and describes himself as a first-generation achiever in a family of five.
The second-born is the first young person to study ICT in his community.
That responsibility motivates him and his journey is inspiring others that technology can help solve real-life problems.
The innovation began as his final-year project at college, but outgrew his classwork.
“I sat down and thought, this is something innovative that can help someone out there who is motor disabled,” he recalls.
That reflection led him to UniPod Malawi, located at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) in Blantyre.
Funded by the United Nations Development Programme and the pan-African timbuktoo initiative, UniPod has become a home for young innovators seeking to transform ideas into practical solutions. The facility provides a supportive space for youth-led innovation, startup incubation, prototyping and local product design.
For Liwonde, UniPod offered the right environment to refine his idea for real-world use.
He recalls: “I met the manager and explained what my innovation could do.
“He was impressed and he told me that he was going to give me mentorship, so that we can make this innovation effective for the people who need it most.”
At UniPod, the young computing genius has found mentorship, workspace, high-end computers, reliable internet and a community that understands the value of turning ideas into impact.
“This space has supported me with mentorship, workspace and free internet for me to be able to deploy this innovation,” he says.
Liwonde’s innovation won the Best Social Impact Award at the National ICT Innovation Awards, a milestone that affirmed the power of technology designed around human need.
But for the winner, awards are not the final destination. They are encouragement to go further.
Over the next two to five years, he hopes to see the innovation deployed in rehabilitation centres and other spaces where people with motor disabilities can access it.
Liwonde wants it to become a tool that can change lives across the country.
Currently, the commands are in English, but he plans to integrate Chichewa, a vernacular language spoken by more than half of Malawi’s population.
“I plan to integrate Chichewa so that people can be able to use the innovation,” he says.
That attention to language, cost and offline access shows the heart of Liwonde’s work. He is not building technology for people who may never have been considered by mainstream digital systems.
His message to other young innovators is clear: “Innovation must serve people.
“We should not only look at the technology. “We should look at the impact it can have on the community.”
