Royal Academy of Engineering 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

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About Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

Applicants should have the ambition to take a leading role in creating a new business to commercialise 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.

Entrepreneurs are invited to apply with innovations from any engineering discipline that can provide scalable solutions to local challenges.

Applicants should be in the early stages of commercialising 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.

If you have questions about whether your innovation would be considered as engineering, please contact the Africa Prize team to discuss your application at [email protected]

 

• Sponsor Organisation: Royal Academy of Engineering

Benefits of Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation

The Africa Prize offers a unique benefits package for up to 16 shortlisted participants to help accelerate their business including: 

• Access to business and technical expertise and sector specific engineering mentoring.
• Bespoke press coverage and communications support.
• Eight month tailored training programme.
• Access to the Academy’s network of high profile engineers and business experts in the UK and Africa.
• The opportunity for finalists to present their innovation to a judging panel at the Africa Prize showcase event.
• Prize money of up to £25,000.

Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation Requirements

• The application must be written in English.
• The applicant must have a high level of English language proficiency in order to participate fully in the programme as this is conducted entirely in English. 
• The lead applicant must be over the age of 18 when applications close on 25 July 2023. There is no upper age limit.
• Previous shortlist members or winners are not eligible to participate in the programme again, nor is anyone who was involved in their team or innovation.
• Applicants can apply as an individual or as part of a team.
• The lead applicant must be a citizen of a country in sub-Saharan Africa*. For teams of two or more, the lead applicant (the person participating in training) must be a citizen of a country in sub-Saharan Africa*.
• The lead applicant must be ordinarily based in sub-Saharan Africa*; if based overseas, this must be temporary for studies or otherwise.
• The innovation must be based in a country in sub-Saharan Africa*.
• The lead applicant must have an engineering innovation, although they are not required to be an engineering graduate or student to apply.
• The lead applicant 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 their organisation or innovation, such as a document of incorporation or patent certificate, may be used.
• Industrial researchers and establishments are not eligible.
• The 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. This includes but is not limited to: 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 as engineering, please contact the Academy to discuss your application.
• The lead applicant must provide a letter of consent from the originators/collaborators of the IP to this innovation, where relevant.
• The lead applicant must provide a technical diagram and photo that showcases the technical aspects of the innovation as part of their 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 that has strong commercial viability.
• If the business is mainly based on developing innovative hardware, then applicants should:
  • Have built one or more working prototypes that prove the technical concept and performance 
  • Have evolved the design ready for initial commercial production
  • Have realistic cost and schedule estimates for manufacture
  • Have clear evidence that an early version of their innovation is generating traction with a sufficient number of prospective customers to underpin for initial revenues and profitability
• If the business is primarily software/app based, then applicants should:
  • Have developed a minimum viable product with demonstravle functionality
  • Have clear evidence that the minimum viable product is generating traction with a sufficient number of prospective customers to underpin forecasts for initial revenues and profitability.

Selection Process

All applications for the Africa Prize are first checked for eligibility by Academy staff. Eligible applications are sent to a pool of technical expert reviewers, who are specialists in the application's field of engineering. Each application is reviewed by two technical specialists. The top applications from the technical review will be sent to the Africa Prize judging panel. The judges choose the shortlist of up to 16 applicants. Sometimes, some candidates may be contacted for further information that is required by the judges before they make their decision. All applicants will be notified of their application outcome by the end of November 2022. 

The shortlisting process will consider:

• Adherence to all entry and eligibility requirements
• The relevance and viability of the engineering innovation
• The potential social, economic or environmental benefit of the innovation
• The extent to which the innovation can be replicated and scaled-up
• The individual's, or team's, entrepreneurial potential.

The Africa Prize judges are an international panel with expertise in engineering, entrepreneurship, innovation and investment:

• Malcolm Brinded CBE FREng (Chair) – Chair of Engineering UK, Past President of the Energy Institute
• Dr Ibilola Amao – Principal Consultant of Lonadek Global Services
• Dr John Lazar CBE FREng – Chair of Enza Capital, What3Words and Raspberry Pi Foundation
• Rebecca Enonchong – Founder and CEO of AppsTech and I/O Spaces
• Dr Alessandra Buonfino, Senior Adviser, Global Innovation Fund; Consultant; International Research Fellow, Said Business School, Oxford University

Application Date and Process

All applications must be submitted via the online grants system. Applicants should ensure they read the guidance notes as well as the FAQ and eligibility pages before submitting their application.

To apply for the Africa Prize you must first register an account on our Grant Management System (GMS) which you will be prompted to do. Once in GMS, please select 'Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

Read the applicant guidance notes that are necessary to complete your online application.

For more information please contact Africa Prize team:

[email protected]

 

Application Deadline

15 October, 2024

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