The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is an initiative of The Royal Academy of Engineering. It is also supported by the Shell Centenary Scholarship fund, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office with Mo Ibrahim Foundation among others. It is open for ambitious and talented Sub-Saharan African engineers from all engineering fields to demonstrate innovative and engineering entrepreneurship skills.
About the Prize
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation aims to stimulate and reward engineering entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. The Africa Prize will encourage 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 commercialization 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 along with runners-up, who will each be awarded £10,000.
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 commercializing, an engineering innovation that:
- will bring social and/or environmental benefits to 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.
Finalists will be invited to present at an event held in Africa and a winner will be selected to receive £25,000 along with runners-up, who will each be awarded £10,000.
Eligible Countries
All countries within Sub-Saharan Africa.
All applications must be submitted via the online grants system, applicants should ensure they read the guidance notes before submitting their application.
Click here to apply.
Application Deadline: 24th July 2017
