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The 2020 Africa Prize final took place on Thursday 3 September. Ghana-based Charlette N'Guessan became the first woman to win the £25,000 grand prize.
2020 Africa Prize winner named as Charlette N'Guessan from Ghana
26-year-old technology entrepreneur Charlette N’Guessan has become first ever woman to win the Africa Prize, and the first winner from Ghana.
Charlette and her team developed BACE API, a software that uses facial recognition and artificial intelligence to verify identities remotely. The software can be integrated into existing apps and systems and is aimed at financial institutions and other industries that rely on identity verification when providing services.
Press release: First woman to win the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation
Explore the full 2020 Africa Prize shortlist
Launched in 2014, the Africa Prize aims to stimulate, celebrate and reward engineering entrepreneurship in Africa.
The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is Africa’s biggest prize dedicated to engineering innovation. It awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators developing scalable engineering solutions to local challenges, demonstrating the importance of engineering as an enabler of improved quality of life and economic development.
An eight-month period of tailored training and mentoring culminates in a showcase event where a winner is selected to receive £25,000 along with three runners-up, who are each awarded £10,000.
Interactive tool - explore the shortlists and winners of the Africa Prize from 2015-2020
Academy launches Project CARE to support engineering innovation to fight COVID-19 in Africa
Project CARE is an international collaboration of academic, health and funding bodies in the UK and engineering entrepreneurs in Africa. Just over a month after it started, the programme is already helping local engineers to deliver products and services needed in the fight against COVID-19 in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.
Project CARE aims to deliver several complementary activities. One of these is to support engineering SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa to temporarily pivot or scale-up their businesses to help address the many challenges of COVID-19.
Three of this year's Africa Prize shortlist were awarded £5,000 to pivot their businesses.
Academy launches Project CARE to support engineering innovation to fight COVID-19 in Africa
The Africa Prize is generously supported by The Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund and the UK Government's Global Challenges Research Fund.
Historical sponsors have included Consolidated Contractors Company, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Africa Prosperity Fund, ConocoPhillips and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
If you would like to know more or are interested in being involved please contact the Africa Prize team at the Royal Academy of Engineering.