Africans with bankable solutions or ventures to address the coronavirus pandemic have a chance to win up to $50,000 worth of in-kind prizes in the upcoming AfricaVsVirus Challenge.
The online challenge sponsored by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and its partners will be open to entrepreneurs, companies, civil society organizations and governments next week from April 16 to 19 2020.
The top 20 pitches will be eligible to win thousands of dollars’ worth of financial, technical and skills-learning support to advance their implementation, the AfDB said this Saturday.
“This online Challenge will channel youth creativity and innovation to real life solutions that mitigate the impact of the coronavirus on health, the economy, SMEs and jobs,” said Tapera Muzira, Coordinator of AfDB Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy.
AfDB said that an expert panel will select the twenty best solutions submitted, and these finalists will be invited to take part in a one-month educational program by Seedstars.
“The top three winning ideas will receive up to $50,000 worth of in-kind prizes, Muzira said.
The AfricaVsVirus Challenge is part of the Bank’s strategy to support young African entrepreneurs – especially young women entrepreneurs – and their SMEs and startups by providing an enabling environment to innovate appropriate solutions to the COVID-19 crisis.
Rollout of the Challenge follows the African Development Bank’s launch on 8 April of a $10billion COVID-19 response facility, and the sale of a record $3billion debt issue last month to raise financing to help African countries confront the pandemic, which is already wreaking havoc on their economies.
