Press release | Social Entrepreneurship | 5. June 2019

11 Top Global Social Entrepreneurs Compete for epAward 2019 – Vote for Community Prize Now!

The empowering people. Award honors inventors who use low-tech solutions to improve living conditions for many people.
© Siemens Stiftung

Munich, June 5, 2019: After months of intense evaluation, the wait is finally over: empowering people. Award (epAward) 2019 announces its finalists! 11 promising enterprises have emerged from the pool of 800 award submissions from 86 countries. The finalists will now battle it out for the top 3 slots and an additional Special WASH Award at the Award Ceremony in Cairo on July 11, 2019. The award recognizes and endorses low-technologies providing crucial services and solutions for the daily needs in developing regions. This is the third round of the international competition.

AT-Association specializing in technological applications in remote areas and Intellecap focusing on social entrepreneurship models assessed the entries. Each submitted project was carefully examined on their technical functionality, local adaptability, social impact, team structure, financial and business sustainability. The exhaustive online and offline research including personal interviews helped narrow down to the best.

 

We are proud to present the finalists:

  • AUTARCON from Germany uses solar technology to disinfect drinking water in 10 countries across Africa and Asia.
  • BLUETOWN from Denmark establishes last-mile Wi-Fi connectivity in Tanzania, Ghana and India.
  • INNOVISION from India brings the digital world at the fingertips of the visually impaired in Egypt, the Middle East, the USA and India.
  • LIVOX from Brazil uses intelligent algorithms to enable non-verbal people to communicate and learn.
  • Mind Rockets from Jordan integrates learning for the marginalized hearing impaired community.
  • Nilus from Argentina applies real-time digital technology to reduce edible food waste.
  • NONSPEC from the USA provides affordable healthcare solution in India and Rwanda.
  • SABAQ from Pakistan leverages technology to offer access to quality education.
  • SESI TECHNOLOGIES from Ghana provides a low-cost meter for measuring grain moisture that helps to avoid post-harvest food loss.
  • SOLshare from Bangladesh addresses energy poverty through a peer-to-peer energy model.
  • WASHKing from Ghana improves toilets facilities for low-income earners.

 

We urge our highly-engaged online community to participate too by voting their favourite solution for the Community Prize.

Rolf Huber, Managing Director of Siemens Stiftung said: “We are thrilled with the selected batch of dynamic entrepreneurs whose social ventures are well spread across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Though, currently serving locally most of them possess the potential to be globally implementable. We observe a definite shift from hardware to more digital applications, demonstrating the future areas of focus in development cooperation.”

For the first time in the award history, the ceremony will see each finalist present their enterprise in front of the multi-disciplinary international jury panel and a relevant audience from the international and Egyptian ecosystem, pitching their business concept and impact. The jury will determine the winners of the competition announcing the first prize of 50,000 Euros, the second prize of 30,000 Euros and third prize for 20,000 Euros. Additionally, seven runners-up will be awarded 10,000 Euros each. A Special WASH Award of 20,000 Euros, supported by Siemens Stiftung’s collaborator Knorr Bremse Global Care will also be awarded. The Community Prize of 10,000 Euros will be given to the solution receiving maximum online-votes.

For the finalists, the prize money comes with an exclusive membership to empowering people. Network, an international community of social entrepreneurs, technical experts and development professionals. The winning social ventures also become a part of a public Solutions Database, that enhances their visibility and opens avenues for collaborations and funding.

Siemens Stiftung with long-standing partner enpact will organize an international expert round table on Innovative Finance Strategies for Social Entrepreneurs and an empowering people. Network Workshop as side-events prior to the Award Ceremony in Cairo. The engagements will broaden the exposure of the finalists and provide a platform to interact with the passionate network members and leading experts from the field of development collaboration.

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Official hashtag #epAward2019

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