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AIF announces 2014 Innovation Prize for Africa finalists

The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) has announced the 10 finalists for the 2014 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) competition, with four of the finalists from South Africa.

The IPA was created in search of African innovators have created practical solutions to some of the continent’s most intractable problems. The following 10 finalists were chosen from a list of 700 applications from 42 countries around the continent:

  • Ashley Uys from South Africa, creator of an an eye screening device called the OculusID Impairment Screening.
  • Daniel Gitau Thairu from Kenya, creator a type of biogas digester  called the Domestic Waste Biogas System.
  • Elise Rasel Cloete from South Africa who runs a startup called GMP Traceability Management Software CC.
  • Joshua Okello from Kenya, creator of a low-cost mobile phone called the WinSenga.
  • Logou Minsob from Togo, creator of a a small electrical food processor called the FouFoumix.
  • Dr Nicolaas Duneas from South Africa, creator the world’s first injectable bone-graft product.
  • Viness Pillay from South Africa, creator of a tasty wafer called WaferMatTM that serves as a paediatric formulation of ARV therapy.
  • Sulaiman Bolarinde Famro from Nigeria, creator of a multi-crop processor called the Farmking Mobile Multi-crop Processor.
  • And  Melesse Temesgen from Ethiopia, creator of a low-cost farming device called the Aybar BBM.

The winners of the IPA 2014 will be announced at an awards ceremony on 5 May in Abuja, Nigeria, where keynote speaker, the honourable Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s minister of finance, will highlight the importance of innovation to unlock Africa’s potential for sustainable development and economic growth.

The winner of IPA will receive a $100 000 prize for the best innovation based on marketability, originality, scalability, social impact and clear business potential.  A runner up will receive $25 000 for the best commercial potential and another winner will receive $25 000 as a special prize for innovation with the highest social impact.

“As global leaders gather for the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa to discuss approaches to inclusive growth and job creation, the IPA 2014 innovators demonstrate that the best way to achieve equitable economic growth for all Africans is to invest in local innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, founder of the African Innovation Foundation and the IPA.

Entries for the Innovation Prize for Africa 2015 competition open in July 2014. For detailed information of competition categories, conditions of entry, and submission details, you can visit the Innovation Prize for Africa site.

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