As Earthshot Week 2024 comes to an end, a series of milestone partnerships and initiatives aimed at furthering The Earthshot Prize’s impact in Africa have been announced, ensuring that environmental innovation and climate creativity across the continent continues to flourish.
Africa-based solutions from within the Earthshot’s pool of nominees – those identified by the The Earthshot Prize’s global search and select process to shortlist finalists – will now have access to a range of new initiatives to speed them on their journey to scale.
The Earthshot Prize, Finalists, Winners and partners will gather tonight in Cape Town for a Closing ‘Jol’ – or celebration – to recognise these new partnerships and the impact of Earthshot Week 2024 more broadly.
Across five days of events, Earthshot Week has spotlighted groundbreaking environmental solutions and brought together world-leading innovators, investors, philanthropists and global youth representatives to drive forward the restoration and protection of our planet.
The three new partnerships are:
To drive long-term impact across Africa, the Motsepe Foundation has donated £3M to the Africa Innovation Partnership to support Africa-based Earthshot nominees and to significantly expand and support African-based solutions for climate change, biodiversity loss and nature conservation in collaboration with Conservation South Africa.
Beginning January 2025, for an initial period of three years, the Motsepe Foundation will collaborate with Conservation South Africa and the Earthshot Prize, to select and award the top 10 African nominees each year with grants. Nominees will also gain access to content and curriculum from the Global Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme, and connect solutions to philanthropists, impact investors, corporations and venture capitals.
Dr Precious Moloi Motsepe, said:
“The Motsepe Foundation has over the years, partnered with various stakeholders and supported a wide range of projects relating to climate change, reduction of greenhouse emissions, nature conservation and protecting the oceans and planet in South Africa, Africa and globally.”
“We are delighted to be partnering with The Earthshot Prize whose mission and values align closely with ours, and welcome other partners and funders to join us in supporting this commitment to nurture an ecosystem of environmental innovation across Africa.”
Ninety One, South Africa’s largest asset manager, has partnered with The Earthshot Prize to launch the Ninety One Accelerator, committing grants and support worth £2M to innovative and early-stage African companies from within the Prize’s pool of nominees that are working on environmental solutions to become investment-ready and scale their businesses. The Accelerator will leverage the reach and expertise of The Earthshot Prize along with Ninety One’s skills and networks to provide customised support, including funding, technical assistance, and strategic guidance, equipping companies driving innovative solutions to take the next step in their journey.
Candidates will be screened and selected annually from The Earthshot Prize nominations, and the Accelerator will work alongside partners to deliver a comprehensive nine-month programme to support as many as 30 innovators between 2025 and 2030, with an estimated total support value £2M.
2023 Earthshot Prize Finalist ABALOBI has been named as one of the inaugural cohort of the Ninety One Accelerator.
The new Sustainable Entrepreneurship Fellowship for African innovators, launched by The Earthshot Prize, Gordon Institute of Business Science School (GIBS) and the Donald Gordon Foundation, includes a commitment of up to £1M to support a cohort of the most outstanding African entrepreneurs who, despite not winning The Earthshot Prize, demonstrate exceptional potential.
Over the course of a year-long programme, each cohort will acquire knowledge, receive mentorship, strategic guidance, and resources focused on sustainability, strategy, and digital innovation, helping to empower them to scale their businesses and drive transformative change in their communities and across the continent of Africa. At the end of the programme they may also get access to possible funding and partnership opportunities.
Wendy Appelbaum, a trustee of the Donald Gordon Foundation, said:
“By combining the global reach of the Earthshot Prize with GIBS’s educational expertise and African context, this collaboration offers an unparalleled opportunity to invest in Africa’s next generation of leaders and innovators, driving sustainable growth for years to come.”
The new partnerships are testament to our commitment to driving lasting impact in Africa by continuing to elevate climate innovation across the continent and accelerate the scaling of its world-class solutions.
As Earthshot Week draws to a close, we are deeply grateful for the support of our hosts and this year’s strategic partners Multichoice and the City of Cape Town, as well as our Earthshot Week Partners and our entire Global Alliance without whom none of this would be possible.
Want to know more about the Earthshot Week 2024 and The Prize Awards?
Go to our Cape Town 2024 page for all the details, including how you can rewatch the Awards Ceremony.
