CONNECTING THE LAST MILE

Last-mile internet connectivity is essential to unlock Africa’s economic growth. The Africa50 Innovation Challenge is crowdsourcing innovative solutions to help increase access in underserved parts of the continent

In May last year, during the Transform Africa Summit in Kigali, Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, launched the Innovation Challenge. The rationale was simple: to harness Africa’s innovation potential by crowdsourcing new solutions to help increase access to high-speed internet in underserved areas in Africa.

The Covid-19 global pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology and if anything has reinforced the role it can play in society and in economic development. Yet despite significant progress in recent years, 75% of Africans still do not have access to the internet and are missing out on one of the best ways to access knowledge, social services and economic opportunities.

The Challenge received 673 solutions of which the top 30 were shortlisted. They included innovations by global giants such as international aerospace group Airbus, established innovators such as the Kenya BRCK and less established names such as eduAir and noovo.

The shortlist was whittled down to seven finalists in July (see box) and the winners will be announced in November. They will receive cash prizes and be considered for project development funding, while the top entry will be piloted in Rwanda.

At the launch, Africa50 CEO Alain Ebobissé praised Rwanda for having developed a thriving ICT sector through enlightened leadership and an enabling regulatory environment. “Rwanda is an ideal pilot country for implementing the solutions we hope to find,” he said. “We can validate the concepts and technologies there before rolling them out in other countries.”