Hi everyone,
Just a quick heads-up - the deadline for The Africa Prize is in a few days. It’s run by The Royal Academy Of Engineering in the UK but the programme is run across Africa.
First prize is £25,000 and runners-up win £10,000.
Twelve people will be shortlisted, and they’ll get 2 one-week trips to different cities in Africa for full-time startup training, plus access to a personal mentor for 6 months. The mentors are usually Academy fellows who’ve already had notable commercial success bringing technology to market. We also open up access to the Academy network, which can fast-forward a lot of connections.
For anyone with an engineering innovation that they want to take to market (or are already taking it to market). For example, last year we had chura.co.ke (a mobile airtime exchange network), a new type of mechanical seed planter for farms, as well as Gongoli Model, a nanotech water filter for rural people. Many were at an idea/pre-launch stage. Anything engineering based counts.
While the prize money is appealing - I think the real benefit of the programme is to the shortlist, because of the doors we can open and how we push to get the companies to the next level.
You can apply here: http://www.raeng.org.uk/grants-and-prizes/international-research-and-collaborations/africa-prize
If you have any questions, please ask.
Thanks!