Botswana to host the 2016 Innovation Prize for Africa awards

Botswana will be hosting the 2016 Innovation Prize for Africa awards.

According to a press release from the government of Botswana, the African Innovation Foundation in a joint collaborative effort with the Botswana’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology and the Botswana Innovation Hub, the Innovation Prize for Africa event will be held in Gaborone, in June 2016 – the exact date is yet to be confirmed.

The Innovation Prize for Africa is a landmark program of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF), whose purpose is to increase the prosperity of Africans by catalyzing the innovation spirit in Africa.

The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) celebrates its 5 year milestone in helping to shape the innovation landscape in Africa. To date, the IPA has attracted more than 6 000 innovators from 50 African countries, making it a truly Pan-African initiative.

This year’s event with its “Made in Africa” theme promises to be ground-breaking, extending beyond the awards ceremony.

The AIF is offering several avenues of opportunity for local, national, regional and international growth and exposure to Africa’s next cadre of innovators. The event will provide an unprecedented platform for African innovators and innovation enablers to network, share knowledge, explore business opportunities and boost collaboration.

Botswana’s selection as host country for IPA 2016 is seen in its commitment towards building its national innovation ecosystem. This is demonstrated by the government’s catalytic role in capitalizing on and supporting the knowledge economy through the development of a 57-acre Science Park, dubbed the Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH). The Icon Building in the BIH Park will be launched in September 2016, as the country celebrates yet another milestone – 50 years of independence.

“Hosting IPA 2016 and celebrating African ingenuity in Gaborone will afford Botswana an opportunity to showcase its commitment to putting innovation at the center of its development strategy,” says the Botswana Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology, Nonofo Molefhi. He added: “We are greatly honored to have been selected to host IPA 2016 and look forward to showcasing the positive strides Botswana and indeed Africa is making in the innovation landscape.”

The IPA is today recognized as Africa’s leading innovation initiative based on its track record since its inaugural launch with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the endorsement by Ministers attending the Africa Union (AU)/ECA conference in 2012. IPA recognizes, rewards and mobilizes for African innovators through promoting home-grown, market-driven solutions addressing intractable challenges in agriculture, health and well-being, manufacturing and service industry, tech and environment, energy and water.

The IPA has been successfully celebrated in African major capitals representing African regions: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2011); Cape Town, South Africa (2013); Abuja, Nigeria (2014); and more recently in Skhirat, Morocco (2015).

This year’s theme for IPA is “Made in Africa”, based on the belief that Africa can posit itself on the world map through self-innovation, carving its own success story of growth economies and creating incentives to commercialize and scale up home-grown innovations. Says Mr Walter Fust, AIF Chairman of the Board: “We are delighted to collaborate with the Government of Botswana in celebrating African ingenuity.

IPA 2016 will offer the following prizes and incentives to winners and applicants:

– Grand prize of US$100,000
– Second Prize of US$25,000
– Special Prize for Social Impact US$25,000
– A voucher for each IPA nominee of US$5,000
– Business development support for top 10 young innovators selected post Awards event
– Business development support for top 10 women innovators selected post Awards event.

The IPA Call for Applications ran from August to October 2015 and attracted more than 3,600 respondents from 50 African countries, clearly demonstrating the creative potential that exists in Africa. Proposed innovations showcased African ingenuity in diverse fields, from agriculture and technologies to green energy initiatives.

The expert panel of judges will carefully select Africa’s new crop of ingenuity this year from 985 successful submissions spanning 46 African countries through a rigorous, transparent process of critique, validation, interview and consensus.