RAEng Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2027 (£50,000 prize) – YOA

Deadline: September 8, 2026

Applications are open for the RAEng Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2027. The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, based by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s largest prize devoted to engineering innovation.

The Prize awards commercialisation help to African innovators growing scalable engineering options to native challenges. These improvements present the significance of engineering in bettering high quality of life and financial growth.

Benefits

• Four awardees will probably be chosen to pitch in entrance of a dwell viewers in an African nation, for the prospect to win £50,000 to place in direction of what you are promoting.

Eligibility

• Applicants can apply as a person or on behalf of a staff.
• The applicant have to be a citizen of a rustic in sub-Saharan Africa. For groups of two or extra, the lead applicant (the particular person collaborating in coaching) have to be a citizen of a rustic in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The applicant have to be ordinarily based mostly in sub-Saharan Africa; if based mostly abroad, this have to be short-term for research or in any other case.
• The applicant have to be over the age of 18 when purposes shut. There is not any higher age restrict.
• The applicant will need to have a excessive degree of English proficiency, which can enable them to totally take part in your complete programme. The application have to be written in English.
• The applicant can’t be an alumni of the Africa Prize or part of the identical staff, enterprise or innovation that has been by the Prize.
• Industrial researchers and institutions are usually not eligible.
• Alumni of the Academy’s Advance programme or alumni of the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship (LIF) programme who participated after June 2024 are usually not eligible to apply to the Africa Prize. LIF alumni who participated within the LIF programme earlier than June 2024 could also be eligible if they’ll proof by their application why participation within the Africa Prize is critical and/or will add worth to them and their enterprise. 

Innovation Requirements

• The innovation have to be based mostly in a rustic in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The innovation will be any modern product, expertise or service, based mostly on any space of engineering outlined in its broadest sense to embody a variety of fields.  
• This contains however isn’t restricted to: agri-tech, biotechnology, chemical engineering, civil engineering, pc science, design engineering, electrical and digital engineering, ICT, supplies science, mechanical engineering, and medical engineering.
• The lead applicant isn’t required to be an engineering graduate or pupil to apply. 
• The innovation have to be past the ideation stage and within the early levels of commercialisation. The innovation should:
  • Bring social and/or environmental advantages to sub-Saharan Africa
  • Have a robust potential to be replicated and scaled up
  • Be accompanied by an bold however reasonable marketing strategy that has sturdy industrial viability.
• The innovation doesn’t should be new. It will be an adaptation of current expertise or the primary application of current expertise in a brand new market
• The applicant should present a letter of consent from the originators/collaborators of the IP to this innovation, the place related.
• The applicant should present a technical diagram and picture that showcases the technical facets of the innovation as part of their application. 

Application

Apply by Tuesday 8 September 2026 at 4.00pm UCT+1 to be thought-about.

When you’re able to apply, entry the grant Management System and choose Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2026/2027 Stage 1 to start your application.

For extra info, go to Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.