About the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa
The Austrian Federal Chancellery, together with the Kofi Annan Foundation, invites entrepreneurial start-ups with a proven business model and a demonstrated social impact to submit their business plans in order to bring their impact to scale and benefit as many Africans as possible. The award is operationally supported by the Austrian Development Agency and the WFP Innovation Accelerator. The Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa seeks to raise awareness for the potential African entrepreneurs hold to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and honour the late Kofi Annan’s legacy and commitment to a more just and equitable world.
Read more About the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa.
How it Works
About the 2024 Edition
The focus of the 2024 edition of the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa (KAAIA) is on Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger to improve the resilience of the African food system.
Therefore, with this second edition of the KAAIA, the Austrian Federal Chancellery, WFP Innovation Accelerator, Austrian Development Agency and Kofi Annan Foundation, are looking to support innovative and digital food security and agritech solutions across Africa and boost their impact.
The Call for Applications is open from 18 January to 8 February 2024. For more information on how to apply visit the Austrian Chancellery website
The Call is open to African social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven enterprises with a measurable social impact and sustainable business model.
Background
By 2035, Africa will have the world’s largest labour force. By 2050, more than half of the world’s population growth will happen in Africa. With a fast growing and young population, Africa is at the forefront of the digital economy. Already today, the continent boasts one of the world’s highest entrepreneurship rates – women in Africa are twice more likely to start a business than women elsewhere in the world.
This growth will bring with it in equal measure unique challenges and opportunities. Not all societal and social problems can be solved exclusively at government level. Hence, digital and innovative ideas are urgently needed. Kofi Annan and the Kofi Annan Foundation recognized Africa’s enormous potential for promising innovations many years ago and, alongside our partners for the KAAIA, want to accompany the youngest continent in its upswing in the best possible way.