The Africa Sustainable Futures Awards will recognise innovative and financially viable projects and initiatives that provide transformative solutions to some of the biggest development issues facing Africa today. .

These terms and conditions set out instructions for how to take part in the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards (the “Awards”). By entering the Awards, entrants agree to these terms and conditions and acknowledge that failure to comply with them may result in disqualification. No purchase is necessary to enter.

OVERVIEW OF THE AWARDS

The Financial Times and the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), have launched a major new awards programme to promote ground-breaking, long-term solutions to development challenges in Africa.

Africa is forecast to be one of the fastest growing regional economies this year and beyond, boosted by rich natural resources, rapid technological change, a young population and one of the world’s highest rates of entrepreneurship. Yet many communities remain extremely poor, affected by conflict in multiple areas, as well as by the impact of climate change on food, water, infrastructure and other basic services.

The Africa Sustainable Futures Awards will recognise innovative and financially viable projects and initiatives that provide transformative solutions to some of the biggest development issues facing Africa today. The focus in this inaugural year will be on the entrepreneurship, innovation and investment that can provide access to clean energy and digital connectivity, and ensure that urban infrastructure and natural ecosystems remain resilient to climate change. The programme will also highlight the importance of gender equality and inclusion in boosting the overall well-being and prosperity of Africa’s communities.

The aim across all categories is to recognise and showcase innovation, impact, replicability, financial viability and sustainability. The judging panel will look at how organisations are harnessing disruptive technologies and business models to achieve impact and scale. Entries are particularly welcome from organisations with initiatives that may provide solutions in fragile and conflict-affected states.

The Awards are open to all public and private sector financial and non-financial organisations, as well as to NGOs that can meet the entry and judging criteria. The focus is on specific projects and transactions and the impact those initiatives have or promise to have on the problems they are targeting.

Only initiatives that have been implemented since 2018 will be eligible. Entries must have annual revenues of at least US$3 million, or have investment of at least US$5 million, to be eligible.

Those criteria are waived for the Innovation Showcase, a special category designed to promote exciting new ideas from Africa’s start-ups that do not yet have adequate funding.

While the focus is on transformational impact in Africa, the awards are also open to projects that address similar market deficiencies in other regions and that could be replicated across the continent. 

The winner in each category will be announced at a special awards dinner on 30 October 2024 that will conclude the FT’s Africa Summit, a major event at the Peninsula London bringing together African government, business and finance leaders with global investors and industry partners to collaborate on opportunities for long-term, sustainable growth. 

All valid entries will be judged against the judging criteria by a panel of experts from the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the Financial Times in order to select up to 5 short-listed entries per Core Award Category (each a “Shortlisted Entry” and together the “Shortlisted Entries”). From the shortlisted entries, one winning entry and potentially one special commendee will be selected per Core Award Category by a panel of independent judges (each a “Winning Entry” and together the “Winning Entries”). The judging panel will also select the winner of the Judges Award for Excellence, which is awarded to one of the winners of the core categories. At the judges meeting, the panel reserves the right to create a special award to recognise a short-listed entry of exceptional quality. 

The winner in each category will be announced at a special awards ceremony in London on 30 October 2024.

THE CATEGORIES 

Entries will be accepted until July 31, 2024 in the following categories:

• Financing the Access to Clean Energy

• Resilient Infrastructure

• Biodiversity and Ecosystems Protection

• Gender Equality and Inclusion

• Digital Infrastructure

• Innovation Showcase - This special category is designed to highlight exciting new deep tech ideas that may not meet the eligibility criteria for the core categories but have the potential, with additional funding, to have a transformative impact.
  

THE JUDGES 

The judging panel for 2024 will be available on the website: https://africasustainablefuturesawards.live.ft.com/home. 

WHO ENTERS?

The Africa Sustainable Futures Awards are open to all private sector organisations, as well as NGOs that can meet the judging criteria. The aim across all categories is to recognise innovative and financially viable projects and initiatives that provide transformative solutions to some of the biggest development issues facing Africa today. Entries are particularly welcome from organisations with initiatives that may provide solutions in fragile and conflict-affected states.

The Financial Times Limited and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and their associated companies and agencies are not eligible to take part in the Awards.

By submitting an entry on behalf of an organisation, you warrant that you have the requisite authority and/or have obtained the organisation’s consent for entering the Awards and these terms and conditions on its behalf. 

HOW TO ENTER 

The Awards open for entries on 30 April 2024 at 5pm BST, and the deadline for entries is 31 July 2024 at 11:59pm BST.

All submissions must be made via the website (https://africasustainablefuturesawards.live.ft.com/) by completing and submitting the online form. Please note that entry will require internet access and you will first need to register an account before you can access the submissions website. Please also note that word limits are enforced in the online form. 

Each project/initiative is only permitted to be submitted in one Award category. The FT and MIGA reserve the right to move entries from one category to another if they feel it appropriate. Neither the FT nor MIGA is responsible for late or incomplete entries, or for entries not received.

WHY ENTER?

If your entry is selected as a Shortlisted Entry in one of the Core Award Categories, your organisation will receive the following:

• Your organisation and the initiative that has been short-listed will be promoted in an advertisement approved by the FT in the global FT newspaper and through FT Live social media channels. Such advertisement is subject to availability as to when and where they run, and such location and dates will be determined in the sole discretion of the FT. 

• Your organisation will receive up to 5 tickets to attend the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards dinner in London on 30 October 2024, where the Winning Entries in each Award category will be announced. Travel to and from the event and any other costs incurred in connection with attending the event are not included.

• All Shortlisted Entries are presented in detail at the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards dinner on 30 October 2024 before the Winning Entries are revealed. Attendees will also be able to network with other organisations short-listed for the Awards. 

• A summary of your entry will be featured on the Awards website.

If the judging panel selects your entry as a Winning Entry in one of the Award categories your organisation will receive the following:

• Your organisation and the award-winning initiative will be promoted in an advertisement approved by the FT in the global FT newspaper and through FT Live social media channels (in addition to the promotions received as a Shortlisted Entry). Such advertisement is subject to FT’s Advertising Terms and Conditions, and availability as to when and where they run, such location and dates will be determined in the sole discretion of the FT.

• A summary of your entry will be featured on the Awards website.

The results of the Awards are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Those selected as Shortlisted Entries will be notified by 2 September 2024 by email and/or phone. Those selected as Shortlisted Entries may be required to provide a promotional video about the project/initiative selected as a Shortlisted Entry and by providing such promotional video the entrant grants the FT and MIGA a worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, irrevocable and royalty-free licence to use, display, publish, transmit, copy and edit such promotional video, in whole or in part, in any way and in any media, whether now known or invented in the future. 

Those selected as Winning Entries and Special Commendations will be notified at the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards dinner in London on 30 October 2024. The names of the organisations selected as Winning Entries will also be published by the FT in the global FT newspaper.

If a Shortlisted Entry or Winning Entry cannot be contacted from the details supplied within 14 business days of notification, a replacement Shortlisted Entry or Winning Entry may be chosen at the FT and/or MIGA's discretion and will be notified by the FT and/or MIGA. The original entry that was chosen will then be forfeited. FT and MIGA will not be liable for any failure, delay or inability to contact a Shortlisted Entry or Winning Entry.

OTHER T&Cs

The Awards shall be void where prohibited by local laws or regulations, including where in FT’s and/or MIGA's reasonable opinion we cannot accept an entry or provide a prize due to sanctions laws or banking restrictions. It is the responsibility of entrants to ensure that they are able to participate in the Awards in compliance with local laws and regulations. To the fullest extent permitted by law, FT and MIGA are not liable where an entrant has breached local laws and/or regulations in connection with the Awards.

FT and MIGA reserve the right to cancel, suspend or amend the Awards, or any part of it (including these terms and conditions) or change the prizes (to one of equivalent or greater value) as required by the circumstances in FT and/or MIGA's sole discretion. FT and MIGA reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any organisation (or its representative) that has not complied with the letter or the spirit of these terms and conditions. Any failure by FT or MIGA to enforce any provision in these terms and conditions shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

FT and MIGA accept no responsibility for the loss or damage of material submitted. FT cannot accept responsibility for or liability arising from entrants taking part in the Awards or for taking up, or not taking up, the prize. FT and MIGA give no warranty or guarantee in relation to the prize and accepts no responsibility or liability for the prize being amended by FT or MIGA. To the fullest extent permitted by law, FT and MIGA exclude liability for all loss, damage or claim arising as a result of an organisation’s (or its representative’s) entry into the Awards or use of the prize (save in the case of death or personal injury caused by the negligence of FT or MIGA).

Unless agreed otherwise, entrants retain ownership over their entry to the Awards. FT and MIGA reserves the right to publish the names of the organisation and/or individuals contained in the Shortlisted Entries and Winning Entries, and the details and descriptions of all entries. By submitting an entry, all entrants grant the FT and MIGA a perpetual, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, irrevocable and royalty free licence to publish details and descriptions of entries in any way and in any media whether now known or invented in the future, and also agree to participate in publicity reasonably requested by the FT and/or MIGA regarding their entry. Entrants warrant that their entry does not breach any applicable laws or regulations or infringe any third intellectual property or privacy rights, and is not in any way libellous, defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing or threatening.

By submitting an entry, the submitter warrants that it has obtained all necessary consents required under applicable data protection and privacy laws to allow the sharing of any personal data contained in the submission with FT and MIGA. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of assessing each submission and will be processed by FT in accordance with any applicable data protection legislation and the FT Privacy Policy, available at: http://help.ft.com/legal/financial-times-privacy-policy. As set out in the FT Privacy Policy, we may share your personal data with our service providers including, for example, with any third party supplier of the prize.

By entering the Awards, entrants agree to hold each of FT and MIGA harmless for liability, damages or claims for injury or loss to any person or property, relating to, directly or indirectly, participation in the Awards, or claims based on publicity rights, third party intellectual property rights, defamation or invasion of privacy.

These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Disputes arising in connection with the Awards shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

The promoters are The Financial Times Limited, Bracken House, 1 Friday Street, London, EC4M 9BT and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, 12th floor, 1800 G Street NW, Washington, D.C., U.S.