Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2016 (£25,000 in Cash Awards)

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is now open for applications. 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.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be individuals or groups of no more than three people.
• Individual applicants must be citizens of a country within sub-Saharan Africa and currently reside there. For teams of two or three, the lead applicant must be a citizen of a country within sub-Saharan Africa and currently reside there.
• Applicants must have an engineering innovation and provide a letter of support from a university of research institution.
• Industrial researchers and establishments are not eligible.
• The applicant’s innovation can be any new product, technology or service, based on research in engineering defined in its broadest sense to encompass a wide range of fields, including:agricultural technology, biotechnology, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, design engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, ICT, materials science, mechanical engineering, and medical engineering. If you are in any doubt that your area of expertise would be considered engineering then please contact the Academy to discuss your application.
• Applicants should have achieved the development of, and be in the early stages of commercialising, an engineering innovation that:
  (1) ​will bring social and/or environmental benefits to country/countries in sub-Saharan Africa;
  (2)has strong potential to be replicated and scaled up;
  (3)is accompanied by an ambitious but realistic business plan which has strong commercial viability.

Awards

• 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 will be invited to present at an event held in Africa and a winner will be selected to receive £25,000
• Runners-up will each be awarded £10,000.

How to Apply

1. Register  and apply via the online Grants Sytem. Register here.

2. The application form consists of 6 sections:

• Application details
• Your Innovation
• Your Business Plan
•  About You 5
• Supporting Information and Declaration
• Marketing

Deadline: June 30, 2016

For more information, visit Africa Prize