The Royal Academy of Engineering has opened applications for the 2023 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation and invites talented entrepreneurs to demonstrate how their innovations can help to solve the continent’s challenges.
The Africa Prize aims to support and enable innovation and enterprise in sub-Saharan Africa, and nurture the wealth of engineering talent on the continent.
Africa’s entrepreneurs from all engineering disciplines with an innovation that can provide scalable solutions to local challenges are invited to enter. Applications are open to individuals or small teams, living and working in sub-Saharan Africa. Submitted innovations should have a social, economic or environmental benefit, and should be at an early stage of development, with the potential for upscaling and commercialisation.
The winner of the Africa Prize receives £25,000 and 16 shortlisted applicants receive seven months of training and mentoring including support with developing business plans, recruitment, IP protection, financing and commercialisation.
Now in its ninth year, the Africa Prize has supported 118 innovators across 16 countries, helping entrepreneurs to develop businesses addressing challenges in water, sanitation, healthcare, finance, transport, communication and energy. Previous Africa Prize awardees include 2022 winner Norah Magero, for her portable vaccine fridge solution and 2021 winner Noël N’guessan, for his low-cost biowaste processing innovation. Africa Prize alumni have to date created 1,500 jobs, reached 500,000 people, and have directly contributed to 12 of the UN SDGs.
Programme Manager for the Africa Prize at the Royal Academy of Engineering, Alice Radley said, “Africa’s innovators have demonstrated how their ideas can change their communities, and the Africa Prize is showing how inspiring and recognising a network of entrepreneurs can help to transform the continent.”
Africa Prize judge, Rebecca Enonchong said, “For nearly a decade we’ve watched the Africa Prize alumni grow and change their communities with their engineering innovations. We are delighted to once again open the Africa Prize for applications for 2023. We can’t wait to hear from more innovators on the continent who are using engineering to change the world.”
The deadline for applications is 19 July 2022. Innovators do not need to be qualified engineers to enter, but their innovation must involve some form of engineering (such as mechanical engineering, energy engineering, software engineering or bioengineering). Prospective applicants are invited to view application guidance notes and submit applications through the online grants system.
1. The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to developing African innovators, and assisting them to maximise their impact. It awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to address local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.
An eight-month period of tailored training and mentoring culminates in a showcase event where a winner is selected to receive £25,000, along with three runners-up who are each awarded £10,000. The 12 remaining shortlisted candidates also compete for the public’s vote for the One-to-Watch award of £5,000.
Judges, mentors and expert reviewers for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation have provided over 2,460 hours of support to entrepreneurs since the prize was established – this equates to a value of over £1,156,000 in support.
2. The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.
In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.
Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.
For media enquiries please contact: Ben Harris, Proof Africa on behalf of the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +27647420880 email: Ben@proofafrica.co.za