Deadline: 25-Jul-25
The ESG Africa Conference has announced its Student Innovation Competition to spotlight and celebrate the next generation of African changemakers.
This platform gives students the opportunity to tackle real-world environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges through fresh thinking, innovation, and purpose-driven solutions.
Every year, students from across the continent are invited to present bold, original ideas that address pressing sustainability issuesdriving impact at community, national, and global levels. Through this competition, they aim to inspire future leaders while creating meaningful opportunities for learning, mentorship, and exposure.
Topics and Themes
- Driving an ESG Culture:
- One of the biggest challenges faced within organisations and in society is changing how they behave in organisations, often people regard sustainability and ESG particularly as a tick box exercise rather than a crucial part of their company strategy and culture.
- Environmental & Social Consciousness Education:
- One of the biggest challenges they face is educating people about the opportunities and risks associated with ESG and sustainability adoption.
- Leveraging Technology and Digital Solutions to Address Operationally related to Sustainability Challenges:
- Think about how to harness technology and digital tools to overcome sustainability-related or specific ESG challenges, such as reducing carbon emissions, improving resource efficiency, accelerating gender equality, and enhancing transparency in supply chains.
- Innovative Strategies for Promoting Sustainable Supply Chains and Responsible Sourcing:
- Think about creative approaches that could be adopted to promote sustainability in supply chains, including traceability systems, supplier partnerships, and incentivising responsible sourcing practices.
- The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Tackling ESG Challenges and Driving Positive Impact:
- Consider the pivotal role of social entrepreneurship in addressing ESG challenges, highlighting innovative business models, social enterprises, and impact-driven initiatives that generate positive social and environmental change.
- The future of Urban Living: Designing resilient and regenerative cities.
- Cities are both a major source of emissions and a hub of innovation. How might they reinvent urban life to be greener, fairer and more resilient to climate change?
- Waste to Wealth: Circular Economy Innovation:
- The future is circular, no linear. How can they turn waste into resources and create systems that mimic nature’s zero-waste genius? They are looking for circular business models in fashion, food, electronics or packaging or community tools for upcycling, repair and reuse. Explore local solutions to tackle global waste challenges.
- Nature Positive innovation: Regenerating Ecosystems through enterprise:
- Apart from encouraging communities to do less harm to the natural environment, how do they put focus on actively restoring nature? How would innovation help create ventures that restore forests, oceans or wetlands while generating livelihoods? What tools can help organisations be nature-positive? Can business become a force for nature rather than against it?
Funding Information
- The winner of the Student Innovation Competition will be awarded a cash prize of R40,000, with the runner-up receiving R20,000 in recognition of their outstanding contribution to innovative thinking.
Eligibility Criteria
- The ESG Student Innovation Competition is open to all students aged 30 and under from any discipline and level at African educational institutions.
Selection Criteria
- Phase 1: Proposal Submission
- Students will be asked to submit a one-page abstract detailing any innovative ideas they have, to address an ESG/sustainability challenge (choosing from one of the topics listed below). Entries can be individual, or team based.
- Phase 2: Finalist Essays
- The top five finalists will be notified and will have to expand their ideas into a 3000+ word essay. This will have to be completed by the deadline given.
Application Requirements
- All submissions must be in PDF format.
For more information, visit ESG Africa Conference.