The African Innovation Foundation sends word that submissions for the 2014 Innovation Prize for Africa are now open, with a million rand prize for the best project that “unlocks new African potential” in one of five categories including software applications. As well as the main prize, there will be two runners-up worth almost quarter of a million rand each; one for the idea with the best business potential and one for the idea with the highest potential for social impact.
The full list of categories are:
- Agriculture and agribusiness
- Environment, energy and water
- Health and wellbeing
- ICT applications
- Manufacturing and services industries.
This will be the third year that the competition has been run. Last year’s main prize was won by South African firm AgriProtein for a method of producing animal feed using waste and fly larvae – which sounds charmless enough. Runners-up were Tunisia’s Saphon Energy, which designed a bladeless wind turbine, and a food producing machine from Senegal.
Only Africans are elgible to enter, although you don’t have to live on the continent to do so. Full details here.
(Image credit: Saphon Energy)
