Africa Prize opens 2027 applications with Zambia spotlight

The Royal Academy of Engineering has opened applications for the 2027 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation and is urging engineers and innovators in Zambia to apply. The prize offers £85,000 in awards, training and mentoring for early-stage engineering businesses across sub-Saharan Africa.

Why it matters: - The Africa Prize is a major launchpad for engineering-led businesses across sub-Saharan Africa. - Winners receive cash, training and mentoring designed to help early-stage innovations become market-ready and scalable. - Zambia is getting extra attention after one Zambian innovator made this year’s shortlist.

What happened: - The Royal Academy of Engineering launched applications for the 2027 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation on 13 July 2026. - The Academy issued a specific call to engineers and innovators in Zambia. - The prize is part funded by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. - Applications for Cycle 13 close on 8 September. - Interested candidates must apply by that date to be considered for the 2027 shortlist. - More information is available here.

The details: - The 2027 prize will follow an eight-month commercialisation programme. - The total prize pot is £85,000. - The overall winner will receive £50,000. - Three finalists will each receive £10,000. - The ‘One-to-Watch’ award will carry £5,000. - Each year, 16 candidates are shortlisted for the prize. - Shortlisted candidates receive an intensive eight-month training programme focused on business skills such as financial management and market analysis. - Participants also get mentoring in business, technology, engineering and communications from the Academy’s Fellows and other experts. - The programme has supported more than 180 businesses in 24 countries. - Alumni have collectively secured more than $34 million in third-party grants and equity funding.

Between the lines: - The Academy is pushing into regions where awareness of the prize is still growing. - Meredith Ettridge, Associate Director, International, said the goal is to build new connections and support more innovations with the potential to scale. - This year’s 16 shortlisted candidates for the 2026 Africa Prize came from 11 African countries. - Their projects included AI-powered maternal and cardiac health tools, mobile dialysis technologies, digital learning platforms, smart public transport systems, renewable energy for off-grid communities and hospitals, smart agritech, low-cost clean water supply and waste management. - Muzalema Mwanza, a Zambian innovator shortlisted for the 2019 Africa Prize, founded Safe Motherhood Alliance and developed the Baby Delivery Kit for midwives in under-resourced clinics and home settings. - Safe Motherhood Alliance has also launched the Safe Pay mobile app, which lets users pay for maternal and sexual health services using mobile money.

What's next: - Applicants from sub-Saharan Africa can submit individual or team entries for scalable engineering solutions with social or environmental impact. - Lead applicants must be 18 or older, fluent in English, and a citizen of and resident in a sub-Saharan African country. - Hardware entries must include a working prototype and evidence of customer interest. - Software or app entries must include a functional minimum viable product and demonstrable user traction. - Applicants must also provide a letter of endorsement, technical schematic and image of the innovation. - The 2027 shortlist will come from the current application cycle.

The bottom line: - Zambia has a direct path into one of Africa’s best-known engineering innovation prizes, with cash and support on offer for early-stage ideas that can grow.