Candidates not scrambling for price of innovation in 2015

A meeting of awareness and information on the conditions of participation was organized Thursday in Yaoundé relative to the 4th edition.

If the 2014 edition of the price of innovation for Africa (Pia) mobilized 22 Cameroon applications, that of 2015 for which the nominations deadline is October 31, so far elicited only one candidate.

At the launching ceremony of Pia 2015 at the Ministry of scientific research and Innovation (Minresi) last Thursday, Rebecca Ebellé Etamè, the Secretary General who presided over the ceremony on behalf of the Minister, urged Cameroonian inventors to do everything possible to generate a volume of applications at height for the national innovative potential.

To convince the reliability of price support, the Foundation for African Innovation (Fia), initiator of the Pia, invited two innovators including Logou Minsob, CEO of Logou concept, of Togolese nationality, 2nd award 2014, and creator of machine called «Foufoumix», who described the creation of its innovation process.

The second innovator, Cameroonian Faustinus Djokikang, CEO of Novatech Construction System, finalist of the prize in 2013, meanwhile, presented to the public a manual machine that can produce in a short time and at a lower cost, Terra cotta bricks.

Pia focuses on agriculture and agro-industry, applications in information and technology innovation, health and welfare, the manufacturing industry and services, the environment, energy and water. Projects submitted must obey a number of criteria such as: the commercial potential, the socio-economic impact, the scope of innovation, originality and inventiveness. They must, moreover, be likely to be applied in business to create wealth.

To this end, the Foundation invites African innovators who have solutions on the market to submit their nominations by highlighting how they could accelerate the development of Africa.