Innovation
Challenge
2026
Circular Economy: From Waste to Wealth
Engaging engineering students across Sub-Sahara Africa in a transformative innovation, design and product realization challenge. Bring your boldest ideas — disruptive thinking is what we reward.
2026 Theme
"From Waste to Wealth"
Challenge yourself to rethink waste as a resource. Develop solutions that close the loop, create value and build a more sustainable Africa through engineering ingenuity.
Criteria for Teams & Participants
Eligibility
Same Institution
All team members must be from the same accredited institution. Cross-institutional teams are not eligible.
Active Undergraduates
Each team member must be an active undergraduate student in an accredited programme. Open to student sections of technical societies.
Team Supervisor
A qualified staff member of the institution must serve as supervisor and co-sign the registration.
Team Size: 5–7
Teams must have a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 participants, with at least one female member.
Gender Inclusion
At least one female team member is mandatory for all team compositions.
SSA Institutions
Open exclusively to students enrolled at institutions in the Sub-Sahara Africa region.
Competition Timeline
From registration through to the final product demonstration — here is what the journey looks like.
Register your team. Provide team member details, institutional affiliation, supervisor information and an initial project concept.
Submit a comprehensive description of your proposed solution, its relevance to the circular economy theme and projected impact.
Develop detailed engineering designs, technical drawings, material specifications and feasibility analyses for your solution.
Build your working prototype. Validate performance against design goals and document the realization process.
Present your solution to the judging panel and a live audience. Final date to be confirmed — provisionally September 26th, 2026.
Get in Touch
Contact Information
Join the Challenge
Ready to Innovate Africa's Future?
Registration is open April 1–15, 2026. One team per institution. Don't miss your opportunity to shape the circular economy of tomorrow.