Opportunity profile: African innovators line up to scale up

A competition from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering offers training, mentoring and cash prizes

Top tips

• Make it easy for the judges—walk them through your innovation, showing prototypes if you have them
• The optional video is a great way to demonstrate the work you have already done, rather than talking to the camera
• With the business plan, convert costs into dollars or pounds
• Make sure you do your research on competitors and acknowledge them in your application
• Don’t worry if your business plan is not perfect—the judges will want to see you have room to learn

Every year, 16 budding African entrepreneurs get the chance to compete for a top prize of £25,000 ($35,000) from the UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering. Contenders for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation get seven months of mentoring and training to help bring their innovation to market, before a winner is chosen and three runners-up receive £10,000 each.