The 10 finalists for the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) 2013 have been announced
The finalists, which, according to the IPA, provide practical examples of Africa’s investment potential, have been chosen from more than 900 applications across 45 countries.
The winners of the IPA 2013 will be announced on May 7 at a gala dinner in Cape Town, South Africa hosted by the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business and the Sekunjalo Development Foundation.
Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, co-founder of the African Innovation Foundation and the IPA said, “As global leaders gather for the World Economic Forum on Africa to discuss approaches to deliver on Africa’s promise, these innovators demonstrate that the best way to build Africa’s capacity is to invest in local innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The winner will receive US$100,000 for the best innovation based on marketability, originality, scalability, social impact and clear business potential, while one finalist will receive US$25,000 for the best commercial potential and a further prize of US$25,000 will be awarded as a prize for social innovation.
Selected from a range of industries including agriculture, environment, health, ICT and manufacturing, the finalists include Hassine Labaied and Anis Aouini for their zero-blade wind convertor (Tunisia); Dudley Jackson, inventor of the SavvyLoo (South Africa); Eugene Cloete for his TBag water filter invention (South Africa); Ashley Uys for the Malaria pf/PAN (pLDH) test kit innovation (South Africa); Sanoussi Diakite for the Fonia husker machine (Senegal); Njokikang Faustinus for Novatech Construction Systems (Cameroon); Andi Friedman, creator of Mobenzi software (South Africa); Justus Nwaoga for the Mimosa solar power innovation (Nigeria); Muna Majoud Mahoamed Ahmed for the Agroforestry Model Farm (Sudan); and the team of researchers from AgriProtein Technologies (South Africa).
The IPA selection committee comprises private equity investors, seed funders, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and development leaders.
The call for IPA 2014 applications will be announced in July 2013.
