Deadline: 31 October 2014, 23.59 GMT
Open to: innovators, academics, entrepreneurs living and based in Africa
Award: grand prize of 100.000 US dollars
Description
The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is calling on all African innovators to submit their entries for the fourth edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) competition. The IPA is presented annually, enabling and encouraging African pioneers to develop creative ideas and techniques to overcome some of the challenges faced by the continent and support sustainable development.
Contest
The 2015 IPA recognizes innovative breakthroughs that unlock new African potential in the following five priority areas:
- Agriculture/agribusiness – Innovations that have demonstrated a lead in the agricultural sector, particularly, value added at specific points of the agricultural value-chain. It is about providing new ways to ensure a food-secure future for the African continent and the world. The innovation could be about commercial and market-oriented farming as well as small-scale and subsistence farming.
- Environment, Energy and Water – Innovations that have demonstrated a lead in developing or applying cost-effective, smart renewable energy generation processes, cleaner water supply systems etc. It is about the way we adapt to climate challenges and steward our natural resources to impact the inheritance we leave to the future generations of Africans.
- Health and Wellbeing – Innovations that have demonstrated high impact or potential in improving the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals or communities, through prevention, treatment etc. It is about finding new treatments, cures and approaches that ensure longer, happier and healthier lives. This might include the development and use of traditional and modern medicines, improved sanitation, hygiene and treating or preventing the major diseases faced by the continent.
- Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) – Innovative ICTs applications that have demonstrated their potential in addressing key development challenges in African societies (e.g. in communities) or economy, including: software, mobile/wireless technologies and local language software. It is about developing new solutions that address everyday challenges that help Africans live and work more successfully
- Manufacturing and Service Industry – Innovations that have demonstrated a lead on addressing the key pillars of innovation in production technology/industry: creating high added-value, greener, more customer focused and/or high quality products; manufacturing more with less input materials, using lowest energy and creating fewest or zero waste. It is about helping people across the continent literally build better lives.
Eligibility
The contest is eligible to African entrepreneurs, academics or inventors with an innovation that could potentially provide an African solution to some of the continent’s every day challenges. Africans in the Diaspora can also apply if their innovations are of significance for Africa.
Awards
The prices for the Innovation contest for Africa are:
- First Prize (USD 100.000): This prize will be awarded to the innovator with the overall best innovation that meets all the above mentioned IPA criteria and has clear business potential.
- Second Prize (USD 25,000): This prize will be given to the selected innovator with a commercially driven innovation. Beyond the aforementioned five criteria, this category of Award will be carefully assessed on its marketability potential and will be awarded to the innovation with the best commercial/business potential.
- Special Prize for Social Impact Innovation (USD 25,000): This category of award will be assessed carefully on its particular social impact in the community/country and will be awarded to the innovation with the best social impact.
- Finalists: The top-10 finalists shall be invited for face-to-face interviews and to the award ceremony. All finalists will receive certificates. In addition, the AIF will also provide in-kind support to each finalist up to a maximum of USD 5,000 in post-prize technical support to assist in moving the innovation to the next step. Media coverage and additional support might also be mobilized for the finalists.
Application
In order to apply for the fourth edition of the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) competition you need to:
- Download the application form ;
- After you fulfill it with the needed information about you and your innovative project send the application form alongside with the required documents to : ipaaplications@africaninovation.org
For additional information and information about the selection criteria download the official call and visit the official website
