The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) Awards which began five years ago is an initiative of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) that aims to support African innovators by unlocking their potential, catalyzing the African innovation spirit and promoting home-grown solutions for Africa’s prosperity.
According to African Innovation Foundation (AIF), they seek to increase Africa’s prosperity through investing in home-grown innovations and entrepreneurship, strengthen African innovation ecosystems through our platforms and mobilize a network of innovation enablers, driving business development and cross-collaboration and demonstrate that African ingenuity exists at a Pan-African level through honoring outstanding innovations and recognizing their positive impact in Africa and beyond.
This next edition has the theme “African innovation: Investing in prosperity”. The industries of focus are:
- Agriculture/agribusiness
- Environmental, energy and water
- Health and well-being
- Information, communication, and technologies
- Manufacturing and service industry
Speaking of the IPA Awards, HE Lt. Gen. Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of the Republic of Botswana, said “I have read with keen interest the African Innovation Foundation’s IPA journey during the last 5 years, seeking excellence and ingenuity in African innovators and inventors. Your ability to build and drive a brand around mobilizing African innovators and entrepreneurs, who deliver market-oriented solutions to African challenges and supporting them through your processes is unique and most relevant now than ever for our continent. I would like to emphasize that the future of Africa, as a continent, lies within our ability to be self-sustained in products and services, as well as in maintaining a steady growth of world class entrepreneurs in the science, technology, and innovation space.”
Applications will run from September 27, 2016, to January 3, 2017, and it is open to enterprises and individuals that have invested in delivering market-oriented solutions for African-led development. For more information and to apply, visit here.