Category: AGRICULTURE

Description: Ifeoluwa Afolayan is a mission-driven interdisciplinary inventor and innovator. With a focus on soil health, AI, design, and engineering, she uses design and systems thinking to create and guide product innovation in complex problem areas. She considers people in the context of their environment and time, and is committed to shaping solutions that anticipate the needs of communities, technologies, ecosystems, and future generations. She designs for people and planet. Her work sits primarily in sustainable agriculture and physical computing, where she explores materials, technology, systems, and products that support global food and social security. At Muju Earth, an award-winning startup and recent top winner of Imperial’s WE Innovate 2025 programme, she contributes to the development of Aeropod, a biodegradable and climate-responsive soil aeration capsule. Aeropod activates in compacted or waterlogged soil to restore oxygen flow and support healthier soils, offering a practical solution for regenerating globally degraded soils affordably, and for farmers adapting to environmental pressures. She has also designed products such as Germinode, Nibi, and Soro, and brings professional experience from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Biofonic, and Computer Warehouse Group. Her work reflects a commitment to innovation that is technically rigorous, environmentally grounded, and human-centred.