Innovate Africa Competition

The digital revolution is radically transforming how information is accessed. All around the world we are witnessing an explosion of websites, blogs, and radio and TV programmes online. In Africa, almost 340 million people are now on the internet, 127 million use Facebook, and 850 million have mobile phones. A new media ecosystem is emerging, bringing with it fantastic opportunities for newly democratising countries to access freer, more diverse information. In view of this development, CFI and Code for Africa have joined forces to launch Innovate Africa.
Applications are now open for this competition, which will provide $1 000 000 in grants to Africa's most innovative projects.

Innovate Africa

The aim of this project is to help a new generation of African media professionals as they create innovative information services in line with advances in technology usage across Africa. The project is designed to enhance the quality and impact of online African journalism and expand its audience using economic models that encourage independent work.

Hackathons, a MOOC and a fast-track training programme designed to foster the emergence of innovative projects
In 2015, CFI and Code for Africa organised a series of 7 hackathons* and 6 data bootcamps* in 13 different African countries to bring together local developers and web journalists. For French speakers CFI offered a MOOC in July 2015, in which 2 800 journalists and developers took part. The best 20 projects from the MOOC were given international mentorship throughout 2016.
Following on from this, the best of Francophone Africa's young web professionals are now able to submit their innovative projects to the competition that has just opened.

A million dollars set aside to back the projects

The candidates with the best online media projects from all over Africa now have until 1 December to apply. The most promising projects will receive funding and a share of an overall pot of $1 000 000 (from $10 000 to $100 000 per project).

Application submissions:
https://innovateafrica.fund/en

* hackathons : these events gave web application developers the opportunity to set up teams around project leads with the aim of creating an application prototype within a few hours. They took place in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), Dakar (Senegal), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Douala (Cameroon), Tunis (Tunisia), Casablanca (Morocco) and Algiers (Algeria)

* d|Bootcamps : Les d|bootcamps sont des ateliers centrés autours de l'utilisation de données. Ils ont été organisés à Abuja (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Johannesburg (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya)

Afrique Innovation, is a project by:

In partership with: