The MIT Innovation Challenge was formed with the purpose of identifying, rewarding, and promoting innovators and solutions that aim for greater overall economic prosperity.
Some African startups have been chosen among the finalists for the challenge. Four winners will be chosen among the finalists to receive $150,000 USD each in funding to help strengthen their businesses and help them grow.
All the finalists are spread among four different categories. They have already received $35,000 USD each so far by making it to the finals. The grand prize finalists will be announced on the 12th of October this year during the celebration event in Boston.
The African startups that have been chosen as finalists include Nomanini, which is a payments startup based in South Africa. Nomanini places in the Financial Inclusion category.
There is also Tuteria that was chosen for the Income Growth & Job Creation category. Tuteria is a Nigerian tutoring platform. There are also two African finalists that placed in the Technology Access category: ARED and Dot Learn.
ARED is a business in-a-box solar kiosk provider based in Rwanda while Dot Learn is an e-learning startup based in Nigeria. Landing in the Skills & Matching category is the Kenyan incubator iHub.
Vahid Monadjem, the CEO of Nomanini, said, “It’s an honour to be a finalist for the IIC. IIC has the clout of MIT’s global standing in technology along with the recognition that one of the biggest problems in the world today is inequality and exclusion. We appreciate Nomanini being recognised as a leader in inclusive innovation.”