Deadline: September 8, 2026
Applications are open for the RAEng Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2027. The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation.
The Prize awards commercialisation support to African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges. These innovations show the importance of engineering in improving quality of life and economic development.
Benefits
- Four awardees will be chosen to pitch in front of a live audience in an African nation, for the chance to win £50,000 to put towards your business.
Eligibility
- Applicants can apply as an individual or on behalf of a team.
- The 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 applicant must be ordinarily based in sub-Saharan Africa; if based overseas, this must be temporary for studies or otherwise.
- The applicant must be over the age of 18 when applications close. There is no upper age limit.
- The applicant must have a high level of English proficiency, which will allow them to fully participate in the entire programme. The application must be written in English.
- The applicant cannot be an alumni of the Africa Prize or part of the same team, business or innovation that has been through the Prize.
- Industrial researchers and establishments are 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 not eligible to apply to the Africa Prize. LIF alumni who participated in the LIF programme before June 2024 may be eligible if they can evidence through their application why participation in the Africa Prize is necessary and/or will add value to them and their business.
Innovation Requirements
- The innovation must be based in a country in sub-Saharan Africa.
- The innovation can be any innovative product, technology or service, based on any area of engineering defined in its broadest sense to encompass a wide range of fields.
- This includes but is not limited to: agri-tech, biotechnology, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, design engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, ICT, materials science, mechanical engineering, and medical engineering.
- The lead applicant is not required to be an engineering graduate or student to apply.
- The innovation must be beyond the ideation stage and in the early stages of commercialisation. The innovation must:
- Bring social and/or environmental benefits to sub-Saharan Africa
- Have a strong potential to be replicated and scaled up
- Be accompanied by an ambitious but realistic business plan that has strong commercial viability.
- The innovation does not have to be new. It can be an adaptation of existing technology or the first application of existing technology in a new market
- The applicant must provide a letter of consent from the originators/collaborators of the IP to this innovation, where relevant.
- The applicant must provide a technical diagram and photo that showcases the technical aspects of the innovation as part of their application.
Application
Apply by Tuesday 8 September 2026 at 4.00pm UCT+1 to be considered.
When you are ready to apply, access the Grant Management System and select Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation 2026/2027 Stage 1 to begin your application.
For more information, visit Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.
