The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2021 is now open. Win P366 497 (£25000)

The Applications close on 14 September at 4pm 2020 GMT+1.

Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.

An eight-month period of tailored training and mentoring culminates in a showcase event where a winner is selected to receive £25,000 along with three runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.

Last year 2019 winner was Neo Hutiri (image below – VOA) from South Africa with Pelebox Locker.Pelebox is a smart locker system designed for public healthcare facilities to dispense chronic medicine to regular patients, cutting down on long queues and easing pressure on clinic resources.

Developed by Hutiri and his team for the South African healthcare system, the Pelebox is a simple wall of lockers, controlled by a digital system in the centre. Healthcare workers stock the lockers with chronic prescription refills, log the medicine on the system, and secure each locker. Pelebox then sends patients a one-time PIN, which they simply enter into the system to unlock their medicine.

Do you qualify Or Are you 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, research institution innovation hub or previous incubator programme. This can be as simple as stating that an individual studied at or was involved with that institution. If applicants are not affiliated with any organisation, another document proving the status of your organisation or innovation, such as a document of incorporation or patent certificate may be used.

** Industrial researchers and establishments are not eligible.*

The lead applicant must be over the age of 18 by 1 September 2020. 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 developed, 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

For the purposes of the programme, the Academy’s definition of sub-Saharan Africa includes all countries defined by the African Union within Central, East, Southern, and West Africa. These are as follows: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic and many more.

For a comprehensive read on this program,past winning projects , grant system please visit to the link below :

https://www.raeng.org.uk/global/sustainable-development/africa-prize/how-to-apply