Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2019

The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is now OPEN for applications and will close on 22 July 2019, 4pm BST. The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation encourages ambitious and talented sub-Saharan African engineers 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.

The aim of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is to stimulate, celebrate and reward innovation and entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible:

Applicants must be individuals or small groups.
Individual applicants must be citizens of a country within sub-Saharan Africa. For teams of two or more, the lead applicant must be a citizen of a country within sub-Saharan Africa.
The innovation must be based in a country in sub-Saharan Africa.
Applicants must have an engineering innovation, though are not required to be an engineering graduate or student.

Applicants must provide a letter of support from a university or research institution, this can be as simple as stating an individual studied at that institution. If applicants are not affiliated with a university, another document proving the status of your organisation or innovation, such as a document of incorporation or similar, can be used.

Industrial researchers and establishments are not eligible.
The lead applicant must be over the age of 18. There is no upper age limit.
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:

Will bring social and/or environmental benefits to a country/countries in sub-Saharan Africa
Has strong potential to be replicated and scaled up
Is accompanied by an ambitious but realistic business plan which has strong commercial viability

Benefits

16 shortlisted applicants will receive an eight-month package of tailored support to help them achieve commercial success from their innovation, including three week-long immersion sessions, supplemented by remote support. The overall winner of the GBP 25,000 prize will be announced at a high-profile event in June 2020.

How to apply

All applications must be submitted via the online grants system, applicants should ensure they read the guidance notes before submitting their application.