The Äänit Prize, named after the Koalib (a minority language spoken in Sudan) word for ‘common work’ or ‘joint effort,’ embodies the spirit of coming together to work towards Africa's future.
This year’s finalists are trailblazers whose innovative and transformative projects are aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Africa.
EcoWealth provides solar energy solutions that include upfront financing and affordable instalment options, with a focus on marginalised communities facing severe power shortages.
When the Zimbabwean government issued a public call for private sector involvement to bridge an energy deficit of 2000MW, EcoWealth saw an opportunity to provide solar energy to most of the population which is informally employed and does not qualify for traditional financing programmes.
“Our approach not only makes solar energy affordable but also empowers more people to participate in the green energy transition,” Svosve says.
Dzinotyiwei’s Vambo AI offers multilingual AI solutions such as translation, transcription, and content generation.
It is a groundbreaking approach to overcoming language barriers across Africa and enhancing communication in education, business, and government sectors.
Dzinotyiwei’s personal journey with language is the reason she started Vambo AI.
“Growing up, I became highly sensitised to language barriers when consuming entertainment content, when travelling and even when interacting with amazingly intelligent peers whose only challenge was articulation in English,” she explains.
She added, “In a world where most opportunities in terms of attaining education and Economic success is offered in a language that is not my mother tongue, we decided to try and ensure that no African would be left behind now and into the future.”
Asili empowers smallholder farmers by reducing post-harvest losses through transforming surplus fruits into organic snacks to provide vital income and ensuring they are priced fairly for their produce.
Asili was born in 2023, when, while visiting his village in South Sudan, Dumutu was bothered by how much wastage farmers were experiencing from not being able to sell the harvest they worked so hard to grow.
“We came up with the idea to turn the extra fruits into dried fruit snacks, so that farmers could earn money for their hard work,“ Dumutu says.
Du Toit is a psychotherapist who is driven by the lack of support for queer adults who are also neurodiverse.
“Medical aids are reluctant to pay for services related specifically to being neurodiverse and so low-cost support groups is a way to fill this need in a way that people can afford more easily than individual therapy,” she explains.
Neuronetwork is a scalable social enterprise providing mental health support online for the neurodiverse and the LGBTQIA+ community. Du Toit aims to make digital psychoeducation accessible to marginalised communities.
For all of these finalists, winning the Äänit Prize, which consists of funding up to US$80,000 would be a life-changing opportunity that allows them to gain more resources, reach even more of the communities they are passionate about and address some of the most significant social challenges on our continent.
The winner/s of the 2024 Äänit Prize will be announced in Cape Town on September 14, at an event that promises to be a celebration of African leadership, innovation and the unwavering drive to create a better future for the continent.
Supporters can still cast votes on the ‘Audience Choice’ voting option which is open online until September 14, on www.mandelarhodes.org.
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