The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, which is the first of a series of innovation competitions and programs aimed at advancing technological progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The prize winners were revealed during the Milken Institute Global Conference held in Los Angeles, California. The grand prize of $1 million was awarded to NovFeed, a biotech company based in Tanzania, for its proprietary technology that upcycles organic waste into nutritious, sustainable, and traceable plant-based protein ingredients and concentrated natural biofertilizer for the food system.
The second-place prize of $300,000 was presented to Karpolax, an Uganda-based company, for its nanotechnology solution that helps fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer without losing nutritional value, while the third-place prize of $150,000 went to IRRI-AfricaRice for its biotech innovation to help rice farmers protect their crops from flooding, which is one of the most damaging effects of climate change. Additionally, bonus prizes of $100,000 each were awarded to Kuronga and Cool Lion for their innovative ideas.
More than 3,300 people from 105 countries across six continents registered for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, and 25 finalist teams were selected to receive $10,000 to develop and test their innovations to improve economic value for small and medium-sized farms in Africa. The teams also received a variety of special benefits, including participation in a tuition-free, experiential learning program offered by Global Innovation Catalyst in collaboration with Stanford Online, where they received mentoring from industry experts, pitch coaching, and feedback sessions.
The Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program has continued to grow, launching a second competition, the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, in November 2022. The Prize in Green Energy is a $2 million innovation competition aimed at rewarding entrepreneurs and innovators who expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity in Africa. The competition aims to bring talent to the fore and support entrepreneurs to find viable and scalable solutions towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard