Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa for Social Enterpreneurs

Applications are invited from all African social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven enterprises with digital healthcare solutions and a measurable social impact for the Award in Innovations.

The Austrian Federal Chancellery together with well-renowned partner organizations, is looking to support innovative and digital healthcare solutions across the length and breadth of Africa and boost their impact through the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa.

Details

The call is open to African social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven enterprises with a measurable social impact and sustainable business model. The focus of the Award will be on Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being. Nine candidate teams will be selected to further develop their solutions in the 5-day intensive Innovation Bootcamp and consequently pitch their solutions in front of a high-level jury. Successful candidates will benefit from the Support Network of the Kofi Annan Award for Africa – a community of passionate and engaged mentors, investors, consultants, corporate partners and industry experts who share one goal: to help social entrepreneurs get access to the right resources at the right time.

Benefits

• Three (3) teams will each receive a grant of 250,000 EUR from the Austrian Development Agency.
• Finalists will gain international recognition and exposure.
• Nine social enterprises will be accepted to participate in a fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp.
• Teams will be able to connect with an entrepreneur ecosystem and leverage a string network of mentors.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation, applicants must:

• Be an African social entrepreneur or be involved in purpose-driven enterprises.
• Be involved in innovative and digital healthcare solutions across Africa.
• Your company must be a for-profit legal entity and incorporated for at least two years at the time of application.
• Your solution is anchored in at least one African country.
• The applicant must have existing contacts / presence in the country of implementation: country office or other permanent presence, subsidiary, long-term operations or partnerships in the country.
• Your innovation clearly addresses one or more areas of SDG 3 Target Indicator 8.
• The entity does not fall under any of the points listed in the solemn declaration.
• Your innovation has more than 1 million people of total addressable market.
• Your startup pays attention to environmental protection and climate change, gender equality and women empowerment, as well as social inclusion (leave no one behind).
• Your startup is not required to make a monetary contribution to the proposed project budget.
• Your innovation should have a strong proof-of-concept with initial traction and a clear path to scale.

Application will be evaluated in equal weight according to the following criteria:

• Impact & Scalability
• Team
• Innovativeness
• Traction
• Business Model

How to Apply

Interested and eligible applicants for the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation 2021/22 are to apply online on or before the application deadline.

Apply Here

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