The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is looking for talented sub-Saharan African engineers, from all disciplines, to develop local solutions to challenges in their communities and stand a chance to win £25,000 equity-free to bring their businesses to the market.
The Prize selects a shortlist of innovators from across the continent and provides training and mentoring to help turn engineers with incredible ideas into successful entrepreneurs. Applications for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2017/2018 close on midnight on 24 July 2017. All applications must be submitted via the online grants system.
Launched in 2014, the Prize aims to stimulate, celebrate and reward engineers who have developed innovations that will benefit Africans. Tuteria, Nigeria’s online learning platform was declared this year’s winner beating several other innovations at the final competitions held in Nairobi. According to its website, the Africa Prize encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineers from all disciplines to apply their skills to develop scalable solutions to local challenges, highlighting the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development. Crucial commercialisation support is awarded to a shortlist of innovative applicants through a six-month period of training and mentoring.
Following this period of mentorship, finalists are invited to present at an event held in Africa and a winner is selected to receive £25,000 along with runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.
The Africa Prize is supported by The Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund, Consolidated Contractors Company, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Africa Prosperity Fund, ConocoPhillips and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
