Pauline Mujawamariya Koelbl, IPA Director.[/caption]KENYABUZZ: You have the largest database of African innovators, how has that guided your funding decisions?PAULINE: Our criteria is simple. We invest in building ecosystems that support innovators to continue inventing scalable, impactful, market-oriented solutions that meet African-specific needs. We believe that when inventions are created with specific users and markets in mind, meaning they are created as solutions that respond to a precise need, they are most likely to have a bigger impact on the target users and their communities.To date, AIF has supported past winners and nominees with over US$ 1 million to move their innovations forward. Due to the exposure received via IPA, past winners have gone on to secure over US$ 30 million in investments to grow and scale their businesses, and the combined valuation of their companies stands at US$ 200 million.KENYABUZZ: You have had 6 editions of IPA in other countries, how has that been like? PAULINE: With each edition, IPA has gone from strength to strength attracting innovators across disciplines and with outstanding solutions to African challenges. For this seventh edition, themed "investing in inclusive innovation ecosystems", we look forward to expanding our ever-growing network of innovators, enablers and partners in order to join hands and build stronger, more inclusive and sustainable innovation ecosystems that will propel the continent forward. IPA has proven to be extremely successful in unearthing truly game-changing innovations and for this reason the IPA will continue to evolve with a focus of creating value for African innovators.For instance, in an effort to ensure more value is created for African innovators, AIF recently launched a platform named ZuaHub, which allows the Foundation to connect African innovators and resources and help them grow. This is a need expressed by African innovators who have participated in IPA previous editions. ZuaHub will offer offline and online support to qualifying innovators and acts as a platform for innovation enablers to identify the right opportunities to support African innovators.KENYABUZZ: What do you hope to achieve by partnering with the African Academy of Sciences?PAULINE: This partnership with AAS is extremely important to us and is a vital step towards enabling research-driven innovation in Africa and stimulating collaboration between R&D innovators and grassroots innovators. Currently, the bulk of emerging scientific ideas on the continent are driven by abstract pieces of research that do not always correlate to African needs. Our partnership with AAS aims to bridge the gap between science and research outputs, and the challenges faced by our continent which can be solved by capitalizing on such research outputs. The end goal is to promote more use of such research outputs to develop affordable and accessible solutions needed across Africa.The partnership provides a framework for AIF and AAS to harness each other's expertise and networks to promote collaboration among all types of innovators in Africa in order to join hands and devise solutions needed to tackle African challenges but also seize many existing market opportunities on the continent. This also includes joining hands to advocate and mobilize the needed financial support to ensure the commercialization of home-grown innovations.KENYABUZZ: Why do you think technology is key in developing Africa?PAULINE: In Africa, as nowhere else in the world, technology is improving people's lives. The continent has embraced the opportunity to leapfrog existing technologies and invent new ways of using the new technological tools. Mobile technology has been Africa's greatest development hack. It has been a game changer that has helped millions get ahead, by providing accessible information to improve their trade, health etc. For example, in Sierra Leone, fishing communities have used a combination of mobile phones and GPS-enabled cameras to report on foreign fishing boats stealing from their waters.However, it is not just about technology but innovation in general as not all innovations are technological. Africa is a continent of innovation and creativity and having many challenges means people have to figure out ways to address them. Take their energy needs for instance where the majority of African households are not connected to the grid: off-grid electricity is growing fast. Solar-powered phone chargers are becoming more common across the continent. Children go to school with solar-powered backpacks so that they can study by night.Innovation and technology have been key to many of Africa's most exciting developments in recent years however more needs to be done to catalyse research-led innovations on a wider scale. This means establishing clear methodologies and pathways to disseminate the outputs of primary research to the wider public and allow these outputs to form the basis for a greater number of African innovators to create technically and commercially viable innovative solutions.KENYABUZZ: What is your word of advice to upcoming tech innovators in Africa?PAULINE: I would simply say to become innovator in Africa as it is important to also promote non-technological innovations. My advice is that if you see a problem, turn it into an opportunity and innovate to solve it. Take advantage of this era of ICTs and mobile activities and join relevant networks and platforms where you can gain support and access information to solve local challenges. Don't miss out on opportunities such as IPA which not only allows you to get the seed money but can also provide opportunities for publicity, coaching, mentorship and access to markets and other opportunities. Innovation is not an easy road; however, it is rewarding for those who know how to stay focused, persevere and believe they can do it! Reach out to a successful African innovator and learn from him/her and join our growing Pan-African network of innovators and enablers, ZuaHub.I urge innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to look deeply at the challenges in their communities and transform them into opportunities to create solutions that make a tangible impact to making Africa a better continent to live in. Of course, submit entries to our current open competition and get recognized for your ingenuity. Details can be found at www.innovationprizeforafrica.org and deadline to apply is 10 January 2018.
INTERVIEW: Nairobi-Based Science Academy Partners With African Innovation Foundation (AIF)
30th Nov, 2017 at 12:54PM
The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) is focused on fostering development in Africa through funding innovation and technology startups. Over the years, AIF has grown massively to expand in other African countries among them Kenya. AIF initiated the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) and this has led to them funding so many African innovators.AIF recently partnered with the African Academy of Sciences, which is a tech school based in Nairobi. KenyaBuzz had a chat with Pauline Mujawamariya Koelbl, the IPA director at AIF, to tell us more about the partnership.KENYABUZZ: Tell us about the partnership between African Innovation Foundation and African Academy of Sciences in Nairobi.PAULINE: The African Innovation Foundation (AIF) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The African Academy of Sciences (AAS), to create more value and enhance cooperation, interaction, and knowledge sharing in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in Africa. The MoU underpins the commitment by both organizations to catalyze research-led innovations into sustainable enterprises and to create opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange between researchers and grassroots innovators.KENYABUZZ: What work have you done so far with the Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA)? And broadly what has been the impact? PAULINE: The Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) was launched in 2011 with the goal of strengthening African innovation ecosystems through supporting a culture of innovation and competitiveness, whilst spurring the growth of market-driven African solutions to African challenges.In 2012, African ministers at the joint Africa Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) meeting in Addis Ababa passed a resolution to support AIF to promote innovation-based societies across the continent. Since then IPA editions have been hosted by Ghana (2017), Botswana (2016), Morocco (2015), Nigeria (2014), South Africa (2013) and Ethiopia (2012). Each IPA host nation has committed to putting innovation ahead of their development agenda and continue to collaborate with AIF through synergies and partnerships designed to drive African home grown innovations forward.Our network today features over 8000 African innovators spanning 54 countries; 55 of the continent's top innovators and over 400 innovation enablers across the continent.IPA has showcased that Africans are capable of coming up with world class innovations which solve African and world's challenges. It has also helped attract the necessary investments for these innovators who are creating market-oriented innovations and solving pressing African challenges. Moving forward, our objective is to do much more in area of scaling African innovations and promoting inclusive innovation ecosystems.[caption id="attachment_11982" align="aligncenter" width="840"] Pauline Mujawamariya Koelbl, IPA Director.[/caption]KENYABUZZ: You have the largest database of African innovators, how has that guided your funding decisions?PAULINE: Our criteria is simple. We invest in building ecosystems that support innovators to continue inventing scalable, impactful, market-oriented solutions that meet African-specific needs. We believe that when inventions are created with specific users and markets in mind, meaning they are created as solutions that respond to a precise need, they are most likely to have a bigger impact on the target users and their communities.To date, AIF has supported past winners and nominees with over US$ 1 million to move their innovations forward. Due to the exposure received via IPA, past winners have gone on to secure over US$ 30 million in investments to grow and scale their businesses, and the combined valuation of their companies stands at US$ 200 million.KENYABUZZ: You have had 6 editions of IPA in other countries, how has that been like? PAULINE: With each edition, IPA has gone from strength to strength attracting innovators across disciplines and with outstanding solutions to African challenges. For this seventh edition, themed "investing in inclusive innovation ecosystems", we look forward to expanding our ever-growing network of innovators, enablers and partners in order to join hands and build stronger, more inclusive and sustainable innovation ecosystems that will propel the continent forward. IPA has proven to be extremely successful in unearthing truly game-changing innovations and for this reason the IPA will continue to evolve with a focus of creating value for African innovators.For instance, in an effort to ensure more value is created for African innovators, AIF recently launched a platform named ZuaHub, which allows the Foundation to connect African innovators and resources and help them grow. This is a need expressed by African innovators who have participated in IPA previous editions. ZuaHub will offer offline and online support to qualifying innovators and acts as a platform for innovation enablers to identify the right opportunities to support African innovators.KENYABUZZ: What do you hope to achieve by partnering with the African Academy of Sciences?PAULINE: This partnership with AAS is extremely important to us and is a vital step towards enabling research-driven innovation in Africa and stimulating collaboration between R&D innovators and grassroots innovators. Currently, the bulk of emerging scientific ideas on the continent are driven by abstract pieces of research that do not always correlate to African needs. Our partnership with AAS aims to bridge the gap between science and research outputs, and the challenges faced by our continent which can be solved by capitalizing on such research outputs. The end goal is to promote more use of such research outputs to develop affordable and accessible solutions needed across Africa.The partnership provides a framework for AIF and AAS to harness each other's expertise and networks to promote collaboration among all types of innovators in Africa in order to join hands and devise solutions needed to tackle African challenges but also seize many existing market opportunities on the continent. This also includes joining hands to advocate and mobilize the needed financial support to ensure the commercialization of home-grown innovations.KENYABUZZ: Why do you think technology is key in developing Africa?PAULINE: In Africa, as nowhere else in the world, technology is improving people's lives. The continent has embraced the opportunity to leapfrog existing technologies and invent new ways of using the new technological tools. Mobile technology has been Africa's greatest development hack. It has been a game changer that has helped millions get ahead, by providing accessible information to improve their trade, health etc. For example, in Sierra Leone, fishing communities have used a combination of mobile phones and GPS-enabled cameras to report on foreign fishing boats stealing from their waters.However, it is not just about technology but innovation in general as not all innovations are technological. Africa is a continent of innovation and creativity and having many challenges means people have to figure out ways to address them. Take their energy needs for instance where the majority of African households are not connected to the grid: off-grid electricity is growing fast. Solar-powered phone chargers are becoming more common across the continent. Children go to school with solar-powered backpacks so that they can study by night.Innovation and technology have been key to many of Africa's most exciting developments in recent years however more needs to be done to catalyse research-led innovations on a wider scale. This means establishing clear methodologies and pathways to disseminate the outputs of primary research to the wider public and allow these outputs to form the basis for a greater number of African innovators to create technically and commercially viable innovative solutions.KENYABUZZ: What is your word of advice to upcoming tech innovators in Africa?PAULINE: I would simply say to become innovator in Africa as it is important to also promote non-technological innovations. My advice is that if you see a problem, turn it into an opportunity and innovate to solve it. Take advantage of this era of ICTs and mobile activities and join relevant networks and platforms where you can gain support and access information to solve local challenges. Don't miss out on opportunities such as IPA which not only allows you to get the seed money but can also provide opportunities for publicity, coaching, mentorship and access to markets and other opportunities. Innovation is not an easy road; however, it is rewarding for those who know how to stay focused, persevere and believe they can do it! Reach out to a successful African innovator and learn from him/her and join our growing Pan-African network of innovators and enablers, ZuaHub.I urge innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to look deeply at the challenges in their communities and transform them into opportunities to create solutions that make a tangible impact to making Africa a better continent to live in. Of course, submit entries to our current open competition and get recognized for your ingenuity. Details can be found at www.innovationprizeforafrica.org and deadline to apply is 10 January 2018.
Pauline Mujawamariya Koelbl, IPA Director.[/caption]KENYABUZZ: You have the largest database of African innovators, how has that guided your funding decisions?PAULINE: Our criteria is simple. We invest in building ecosystems that support innovators to continue inventing scalable, impactful, market-oriented solutions that meet African-specific needs. We believe that when inventions are created with specific users and markets in mind, meaning they are created as solutions that respond to a precise need, they are most likely to have a bigger impact on the target users and their communities.To date, AIF has supported past winners and nominees with over US$ 1 million to move their innovations forward. Due to the exposure received via IPA, past winners have gone on to secure over US$ 30 million in investments to grow and scale their businesses, and the combined valuation of their companies stands at US$ 200 million.KENYABUZZ: You have had 6 editions of IPA in other countries, how has that been like? PAULINE: With each edition, IPA has gone from strength to strength attracting innovators across disciplines and with outstanding solutions to African challenges. For this seventh edition, themed "investing in inclusive innovation ecosystems", we look forward to expanding our ever-growing network of innovators, enablers and partners in order to join hands and build stronger, more inclusive and sustainable innovation ecosystems that will propel the continent forward. IPA has proven to be extremely successful in unearthing truly game-changing innovations and for this reason the IPA will continue to evolve with a focus of creating value for African innovators.For instance, in an effort to ensure more value is created for African innovators, AIF recently launched a platform named ZuaHub, which allows the Foundation to connect African innovators and resources and help them grow. This is a need expressed by African innovators who have participated in IPA previous editions. ZuaHub will offer offline and online support to qualifying innovators and acts as a platform for innovation enablers to identify the right opportunities to support African innovators.KENYABUZZ: What do you hope to achieve by partnering with the African Academy of Sciences?PAULINE: This partnership with AAS is extremely important to us and is a vital step towards enabling research-driven innovation in Africa and stimulating collaboration between R&D innovators and grassroots innovators. Currently, the bulk of emerging scientific ideas on the continent are driven by abstract pieces of research that do not always correlate to African needs. Our partnership with AAS aims to bridge the gap between science and research outputs, and the challenges faced by our continent which can be solved by capitalizing on such research outputs. The end goal is to promote more use of such research outputs to develop affordable and accessible solutions needed across Africa.The partnership provides a framework for AIF and AAS to harness each other's expertise and networks to promote collaboration among all types of innovators in Africa in order to join hands and devise solutions needed to tackle African challenges but also seize many existing market opportunities on the continent. This also includes joining hands to advocate and mobilize the needed financial support to ensure the commercialization of home-grown innovations.KENYABUZZ: Why do you think technology is key in developing Africa?PAULINE: In Africa, as nowhere else in the world, technology is improving people's lives. The continent has embraced the opportunity to leapfrog existing technologies and invent new ways of using the new technological tools. Mobile technology has been Africa's greatest development hack. It has been a game changer that has helped millions get ahead, by providing accessible information to improve their trade, health etc. For example, in Sierra Leone, fishing communities have used a combination of mobile phones and GPS-enabled cameras to report on foreign fishing boats stealing from their waters.However, it is not just about technology but innovation in general as not all innovations are technological. Africa is a continent of innovation and creativity and having many challenges means people have to figure out ways to address them. Take their energy needs for instance where the majority of African households are not connected to the grid: off-grid electricity is growing fast. Solar-powered phone chargers are becoming more common across the continent. Children go to school with solar-powered backpacks so that they can study by night.Innovation and technology have been key to many of Africa's most exciting developments in recent years however more needs to be done to catalyse research-led innovations on a wider scale. This means establishing clear methodologies and pathways to disseminate the outputs of primary research to the wider public and allow these outputs to form the basis for a greater number of African innovators to create technically and commercially viable innovative solutions.KENYABUZZ: What is your word of advice to upcoming tech innovators in Africa?PAULINE: I would simply say to become innovator in Africa as it is important to also promote non-technological innovations. My advice is that if you see a problem, turn it into an opportunity and innovate to solve it. Take advantage of this era of ICTs and mobile activities and join relevant networks and platforms where you can gain support and access information to solve local challenges. Don't miss out on opportunities such as IPA which not only allows you to get the seed money but can also provide opportunities for publicity, coaching, mentorship and access to markets and other opportunities. Innovation is not an easy road; however, it is rewarding for those who know how to stay focused, persevere and believe they can do it! Reach out to a successful African innovator and learn from him/her and join our growing Pan-African network of innovators and enablers, ZuaHub.I urge innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs to look deeply at the challenges in their communities and transform them into opportunities to create solutions that make a tangible impact to making Africa a better continent to live in. Of course, submit entries to our current open competition and get recognized for your ingenuity. Details can be found at www.innovationprizeforafrica.org and deadline to apply is 10 January 2018.About The Author
