Johnson & Johnson Launches Africa Innovation Challenge

Now in its second year, the 2018 Africa Innovation Challenge is open to innovators and entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria & Ghana among other African countries. The challenge focuses on identifying scalable and sustainable solutions to six major health and environmental problems for Africa’s population. Winning Africa-based innovators and startups are eligible for mentorship and US$50,000 in financial support and resources to help bring their ideas to market

Published 5 years ago | About a 2 minute read

Now in its second year, the 2018 Africa Innovation Challenge is open to innovators and entrepreneurs from Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria & Ghana among other African countries.

The challenge focuses on identifying scalable and sustainable solutions to six major health and environmental problems for Africa’s population.

Winning Africa-based innovators and startups are eligible for mentorship and US$50,000 in financial support and resources to help bring their ideas to market

“The growing number of innovation hubs throughout Africa is sparking a new generation of entrepreneurs who are innovating and finding new solutions for issues facing their communities,” said Josh Ghaim, Chief Technology Officer, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. “Our goal is to expand our support for the region’s entrepreneurs by pushing the boundaries of creative solutions to meet several areas of urgent need. With six new solution categories, Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 represents an extraordinary opportunity for the region’s growing community of innovators to showcase new ideas with the potential for broad societal impact,” added Ghaim.

On his part, Seema Kumar, Vice President, Innovation, Global Public Health and Science Policy Communication, Johnson & Johnson noted that the company was working with entrepreneurs around the world to relentlessly pursue innovations that advance and enhance the health of everyone.

The Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 is designed to address the critical unmet needs of the continent and local communities in Africa while providing support to Africa-based entrepreneurs in creating innovative healthcare products and services.

Among the selection criteria, entries must demonstrate the potential for scale from proof of concept stage to long-term sustainability.

Submissions are open to all African countries from one or more individuals, teams or companies; subject to certain eligibility requirements set out in the terms and conditions for the challenge. The submitted healthcare solutions will be evaluated based on their ability to meet the following criteria; idea submission addresses at least one of the six challenge categories, innovative and creative, scalable, outlines how the award would help the applicant(s) reach a critical milestone within the timeframe of a single year and provides a full commercialization plan.

To apply to the Challenge and review the applicable terms and conditions, please visit the Africa Innovation Challenge website. The deadline to submit applications is January 16, 2019. Award recipients will be announced in 2019.