The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation on 6 June 2023 announced the 20 teams to receive Design Round prizes and to now advance as semi-finalists in the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy. At this stage, each semi-finalist team will receive US$20 000 to further develop and test their designs, anywhere in the world. The semi-finalist teams will also have complimentary access to a Stanford Online course to help them build their businesses.
Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation.
Overall, the competition will award a total of US$2 million in prizes and additional benefits for the entrepreneurs who will expand access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity in Africa.
More than 3 800 people from over 120 countries registered their interest in the competition, which was launched in November 2022. Over 160 of those who registered, representing 36 countries across six continents, submitted technological design and business model proposals. From these proposals, the judges selected the 20 that presented what they see as the most transformative ideas.
Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation said, “Access to electricity is vital to transforming societies – in areas extending from healthcare to education to economic growth. We are excited to see these semi-finalists bringing new ideas forward to light the way to a sustainable future.
“As recently demonstrated by the winners of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech, innovators have the power to create transformative solutions to challenges once thought to be unsolvable. We have no doubt these semi-finalists will do the same.”
Dr Emily Musil Church, Senior Director at the Milken Institute’s Centre for Strategic Philanthropy.
An independent panel of expert judges selected the 20 teams to receive funding and progress from the Design Round of the competition. The teams have four months to demonstrate the effectiveness of their ideas in field tests, which will be evaluated for their ability to:
- generate off-grid electricity using green energy sources
- provide affordable and reliable electricity to energy-poor communities, including in rural areas, using innovative technologies, and
- develop a technological and business approach that is scalable across Africa.
These teams represent 12 countries across three continents. Their innovations include potential breakthroughs in wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal electricity generation, as well as energy storage and distribution. After the Semi-finalist Round, five teams will be selected as finalists to conduct another round of field tests in Africa.
Dr Emily Musil Church, Senior Director at the Milken Institute’s Centre for Strategic Philanthropy said, “The innovation competition encourages entrepreneurs to be creative and expansive. By allowing field tests anywhere in the world in the first round, the competition allows flexibility for teams to take strategic risks. This is the heart of the innovation competition model: to reward innovators who take bold action.”
In May 2024, the judges will award a US$1 million Grand Prize. A Runner-Up Prize of US$250 000 will also be awarded.
For more information on the semi-finalist teams click here.
About the Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. With a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health, it aims to bring together the best ideas and innovative resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of the most critical global issues through the lens of what’s pressing now and what’s coming next.
About the Motsepe Foundation
The Motsepe Foundation was founded in 1999 by Dr Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe. The goal of the Motsepe Foundation is to contribute towards eradicating poverty and to sustainably improve the living conditions and standards of living of poor, unemployed and marginalised people in South Africa, Africa and the world. In January 2013, Dr Patrice Motsepe and Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe joined the Giving Pledge, which was started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates. Dr Patrice Motsepe and his wife committed to give half of their wealth to the poor and to be used for philanthropic purposes during their lifetime and beyond.