Kofi Annan Foundation Awards Nigerian, Kenyan and Zimbabwean Startups For Innovation
The first Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa has been awarded to three startups for outstanding creativity. The awarded startups are from Nigeria, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Each awardee will be offered grants, long-term mentoring, and international visibility.
The Kofi Annan Award, an initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation, seeks to propel expeditious digitalization of all African countries.
It also aims to impact the reality of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, focusing on goal three (3): Good Health and well-being. Through awarding, innovations are anticipated to spring up, providing solutions to the challenges and the goal, thereby developing the practices of Africa’s health sector and initiating entrepreneurial practices toward the goal.
Hosted at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, the event was a success under the aegis of the Austrian Federal Chancellor, Karl Nehammer. Members of the high-level jury and other notable and international guests were in attendance.
The initiative received Over Three Hundred and Thirty (330) applications from Thirty-eight (38) African countries.
According to reports, the three startups awarded are
- Nigeria’s MOBicure, the creator of myPaddi, a service that counsels with the aim of education and increasing sexual health in adolescents, counseling discreetly.
- Kenya’s Flare coordinates ambulance services as soon as possible, often within minutes, through its digital platform.
- Zimbabwe’s Vaxiglobal is an online platform set to provide comprehensive and effective vaccination campaigns.
In his speech, Nehammer stated, “With the Kofi Annan Award, the Federal Chancellery supports innovative startups from Africa with EUR250,000 euros each and helps them gain center stage. In this way, we are allowing them to network with experienced companies and drive their projects and ideas forward even more effectively. It is a true pleasure and honor to be the patron of this great initiative. I wish the winners all the best and much success in their future endeavors.”
The winners will each receive EUR250,000 (US$250,000) in grant funding, access to international visibility, and a long-term mentoring program.