Israeli clean air start-up Aura Air will establish a production line and an innovation center for the training and presentation of clean air technologies in Ethiopia, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The plan was agreed upon at the conclusion of a meeting between Aura representatives and the Ambassadors of several African nations, in which the ambassadors were presented with Israeli air purification and disinfection systems and held a discussion on how to apply Israeli knowledge and developments to fight COVID-19 in their own countries.
While the center will be situated in Ethiopia, it will serve as the basis for carrying out other health projects around the continent.
The meeting featured ambassadors from Ethiopia, Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, and Zambia.
Aura Air Founder and CEO Aviad Shnaiderman said in a statement that, "unlike Israel, many countries around the world are far from seeing the end of the COVID-19 era, and it's still necessary to find ways to maintain a routine that includes indoor activities under the current circumstances."
"During the year of the pandemic, we've installed thousands of systems that contributed to saving lives around the world," he said."Most of our projects took place in the US, Europe, and the Far East. We're happy to bring Israeli technological capabilities to counties in Africa as well and to assist them in the fight against COVID-19 and other diseases that are associated with polluted air.
Founded more than three years ago, the startup last year completed a month-long pilot of its system in Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Israel. It found that the start-up's clean air system has the ability to eliminate different viruses and bacteria at a rate of 99.97%.
The system's AI-based mechanism compares indoor and outdoor air quality, notifying users upon the detection of hazardous gases via a dedicated app.
It has already been installed in governmental buildings, sports halls, dining and entertainment venues, schools, hospitals, hotels, and public transportation systems around the world.