Winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy announced

The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy: a $2-million innovation competition to reward entrepreneurs working to expand access to reliable, affordable and sustainable off-grid electricity in Africa. The winners were announced at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.

Aftrak, an initiative based out of the United Kingdom and Malawi, was awarded the $1-million Grand Prize for its easily assembled solar microgrid and custom-designed tractors, which have tripled agricultural yield, increased farmer incomes and provided electricity to remote communities. The runner-up award of $250 000 was presented to South Africa-based OMNIVAT for its containerised electricity generation and storage system, which provides clean water, clean energy and Wi-Fi enriched by virtual reality support for remote communities.

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy is the second in the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Programme: a series of multiyear, multimillion-dollar global innovation competitions and awards aimed at advancing technological progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first competition in this programme, the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, was launched in 2021, and focused on addressing the goals of no poverty and achieving zero hunger.

Rigorous judging process

After launching in November 2022, hundreds of entrepreneurs from 79 countries on six continents registered to compete for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, and 160 of those submitted technological design and business models. In June 2023, an independent panel of expert judges carefully selected 20 semifinalists to receive $20 000 to develop and test their innovations.

Each of the teams underwent a rigorous, independent judging process that assessed their innovation’s potential to deliver 60 kilowatt-hours of off-grid electricity in a 24-hour period using only sustainable sources. Five teams were then chosen to advance to the finalist round. Each team received an additional $70 000 and showcased their innovations in a live demonstration in partnership with Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

“Meeting the teams and witnessing their work and determination to solve one of the biggest challenges facing Africa was truly inspiring,” says Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation. “We congratulate the Green Energy winners and all the finalists. Your innovations show such promise, and we will be watching with pride as you bring your technologies to market.”

The third Milken-Motsepe Prize, focused on fintech, launched at the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference. The prize will award companies that demonstrate the use of cutting-edge technologies to expand access to capital and financial services for small businesses in emerging and frontier markets.

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech offers $2 million in prizes, with a $1-million Grand Prize for the winning company. Registration is open until 6 August 2024.

The transformative potential of fintech lies in its capacity to empower individuals to start and grow a business, even in the most remote communities. By lowering transaction costs, streamlining processes and expanding access to capital and financial services, fintech can enable aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality. The Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech is designed to leverage the potential of fintech solutions to break down barriers to financial inclusion and contribute to the achievement of key SDGs including alleviating poverty (SDG 1), promoting human well-being (SDGs 3 and 4), achieving gender equality (SDG 5), and fostering viable economic opportunities for young people (SDGs 8 and 9).

Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize impact

“The impact of Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prizes goes well beyond the financial awards,” says Dr Emily Musil Church, senior director, environmental and social innovation at the Milken Institute. “This is a global community of entrepreneurs who believe in imagining and building a better, more abundant and sustainable world. Our role is to identify and support these bold entrepreneurs and to help accelerate their success.”

The Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Programme is a programme of MI Philanthropy, which aims to influence the deployment of philanthropic capital to create a better world. MI Philanthropy’s work includes the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration that has, to date, influenced more than $2 billion in medical research funding.