Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa (KAAIA)
High-Level Award Ceremony of the second edition of the KAAIA in Vienna
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa:
KAAIA Austria Experience
The Award Ceremony was the highlight of the KAAIA Austria Experience: Over the course of three days, the ventures had the chance to connect to the Austrian Innovation Ecosystem.
Find out more about the KAAIA finalists’ experiences in Austria here!
Celebrate with us and our high-calibre guests!
Here are the KAAIA Winners and Finalists of 2024!
An incredible 832 applications reached us from 89 countries around the world – of these, more than 700 applications have been submitted by entrepreneurs from 49 African countries.The nine most promising ventures were chosen. These highly motivated Start-ups competed for the three KAAIA 2.0-awards. All these nine solutions shine bright in the journey to end hunger in Africa. Congratulations! Without further ado, here are the finalists and winners of KAAIA 2.0:
- “Amini” (Winner) - Solving Africa’s environmental data scarcity to regenerate natural capital through AI and space technologies
- “ChipChip.Social” (Winner) – An innovative farm-to-fork model and tech-enabled ‘group-buying’ to streamline inefficient food supply chains
- “FRESH Networks” (Winner) – Making safe, high-quality milk affordable for underserved, low-income urban households in Kenya
- “Grow For Me” – Connecting farmers, funders, and markets to transform agriculture with digital solutions for impact
- “Joklante” – Effective communication, outreach and information-sharing in hard-to-reach agricultural contexts
- “KivuGreen” – A Platform that connects smallholder farmers to markets and agricultural information without an internet connection
- “Karpolax” – Prolonging freshness with cutting-edge green nanotech for healthier produce and longer shelf life
- “Mama Pesa” – Empowering affected women and those at risk from marginalized communities to attain financial independence
- “Solerchil Technologies Ltd” – Renting solar powered cold rooms and linking nearly-expired unsold food to buyers
About the KAAIA
The Austrian Federal Chancellery, together with the Kofi Annan Foundation, invites entrepreneurial start-ups with a proven business model and a demonstrated social impact to submit their business plans in order to bring their impact to scale and benefit as many Africans as possible. The award is operationally supported by the Austrian Development Agency and the WFP Innovation Accelerator. The Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa seeks to raise awareness for the potential African entrepreneurs hold to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and honour the late Kofi Annan’s legacy and commitment to a more just and equitable world.
Read more About the Kofi Annan Award for Innovation in Africa.
About the 2nd edition
The focus of the second edition is on Sustainable Development Goal 2 Zero Hunger to improve the resilience of the African food systems. Therefore, with the Kofi Annan Award, the Austrian Federal Chancellery, together with well-renowned partner organizations, is looking to support innovative and digital food security and agritech solutions across Africa and boost their impact.
How it works
Why tackle SDG 2 "Zero Hunger"?
The importance of redoubling the global efforts to transform agri-food systems was recently highlighted by the findings of the UN report on the“State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023”. Global hunger is still far above pre-pandemic levels – It is estimated that between 690 and 783 million people in the world faced hunger in 2022. And hunger is still on the rise. Moreover, it is projected that almost 600 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030. This demonstrates the immense challenge of achieving the SDG target to eradicate hunger, particularly in Africa. Therefore, Austria has made a new commitment towards the World Food Programme i.e. 60 Mio. EUR more for the years 2023 to 2025.
Background
By 2035, Africa will have the world’s largest labour force. By 2050, more than half of the world’s population growth will happen in Africa. With a fast growing and young population, Africa is at the forefront of the digital economy. Already today, the continent boasts one of the world’s highest entrepreneurship rates – women in Africa are twice more likely to start a business than women elsewhere in the world.
This growth will bring with it in equal measure unique challenges and opportunities. Not all societal and social problems can be solved exclusively at government level. Hence, digital and innovative ideas are urgently needed. Austria has recognized Africa's enormous potential for promising innovations many years ago and wants to accompany the youngest continent in its upswing in the best possible way.