Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Seed Fund 2024 for Students in African Universities and Oxford University

Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Seed Fund 2024 for Students in African Universities and Oxford University. Apply below.

When is Application Deadline:

• Africa Applications Closes: 28th February
• Oxford Applications Closes: 13th March
• Review of Applications: 28th February – 13th March
• Announcement of Finalists:
•        1st Stream: 15th March
•        2nd Stream: 28th March
• Pre-Pitch Preparation: April 16th–May 23rd, including arrangements for travel, visa, and accommodation logistics for African submissions. 
• Final Pitch: May 24th. On Conference Day 1, finalists will present their submissions to a diverse panel of judges.
• Awards Ceremony: May 25th. On Conference Day 2, winners will be announced, and prizes will be awarded.

Tell Me About Award:

The 2024 ISF, an integral part of the Oxford Africa Conference, invites submissions from current students at the University of Oxford and students across the African continent. This year, we are piloting a new collaborative approach by partnering with leading universities in each of the four key African regions—the West, East, North, and South—to promote the open call in their universities through ambassadors. This pilot program aims to gauge the effectiveness of regional collaboration and sets the stage for potentially broader participation in future conferences. Participants can submit their work in three main categories: research, entrepreneurship, and development, all of which align with the focus areas of the Oxford Africa Conference.

Which Fields are Eligible?

• Governance and Democracy
• Economic Development and Entrepreneurship
• Healthcare and Well-being
• Climate, Innovation and Sustainability
• Gender Equity and Empowerment
• AI and Technology

Type:

Entrepreneurship

Who can Apply?

General

• Submissions must be focused on making meaningful contributions to Africa’s prosperity.
• Individuals may apply to the ISF, either as part of a team or on their own.
• Teams must consist of no more than three members.

For Oxford students

• Applicants must be current students (either undergraduate or postgraduate) at the University of Oxford. If submitting as a team, at least one team member must be a student of the University of Oxford.

For students at African universities

• Applicants must be African nationals.
• Applicants must be current (either undergraduate or postgraduate) or recently graduated students (within 1 year of graduation) of universities primarily based on the African continent. If submitting as a team, all team members must also meet this criterion.

How are Applicants Selected?

• Innovation: This refers to the uniqueness or originality of the submission.

• Impact: The potential to have a significant positive influence on African communities. This should be heralded by demonstrated impact at a smaller scale in the case of the development and entrepreneurship categories or by a sound, evidence-based rationale in the case of a research submission

• Scalability: The likelihood of the submission’s impact growing to a larger population, especially with funding from the ISF.

• Sustainability: the long-term viability of the solution.

• Relevance: The alignment of the submission to the selected conference themes.

• Time-bound: The objectives of the ISF must be achieved within one year of receiving the funding.

How Many Awards?

Not specified

What is the Benefit of Award?

• Each category winner will receive a total of £5,000. Funds will be released in installments based on the achievement of pre-specified milestones.
• There will be a special category for the best African finalist that isn’t a category winner, which will be a total of £5,000.
• Consolation prizes will be awarded to all the finalists. These may include AfriSoc merchandise and small gadgets.

Additional Benefits

• For individual applicants, the finalists will be flown to Oxford to pitch at the conference. In the case of group applications, one member, preferably the designated pitcher, from the finalist group will be brought to Oxford for the pitch. AfriSoc will cover all travel and living expenses incurred during this period.
• Winners will be offered technical support and mentorship through the Oxford University Innovation Incubator for 6 months post-award reception.
• Winners and finalists will also be introduced to the wider innovation and entrepreneurship community at the University of Oxford.

How to Apply:

Apply Here

Visit Award Webpage for Details