The Africa Prize is looking for engineers and entrepreneurs who have developed or are in the process of developing a new technological innovation. Applicants should have the ambition to take a leading role in creating a new business to commercialize this innovation. Innovations must aim to promote the welfare and economic development of a country or countries in sub–Saharan Africa and be designed to address a development need or specific challenge facing that country.
Applicants should be in the early stages of commercializing an engineering innovation that:
- is accompanied by an ambitious but realistic business plan that has strong commercial viability
- has strong potential to be replicated and scaled up
- will bring social and/or environmental benefits to a country or countries in sub-Saharan Africa
- is based in, and will benefit, a country in sub-Saharan Africa.
The innovation can be any new product, technology or service, based on research in any field of engineering, including:
- agricultural technology
- biotechnology
- chemical engineering
- civil engineering
- computer science
- design engineering
- electrical and electronic engineering
- materials science
- mechanical engineering
- medical engineering.
