The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has extended the deadline for submission of entries to this year’s ATU Africa Innovation Challenge from 31st July to 31st August, 2021. Through its theme Best ecosystem practices in Africa enabling youth ICT innovation, the competition seeks recognize the impact of partnerships between young innovators and ecosystem stakeholders.
The deadline extension comes after a consultative meeting with Challenge partners, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Huawei and Intel. The move aims to expand room for more participants to take part in the Challenge whose focus is on promoting innovation in the continent especially among the youth.
The winner of the Challenge will receive USD 10,000 and the winning practice will be crowned the 2021 ATU Best Ecosystem Practice in Africa Enabling Youth ICT Innovation. Organizations that have developed and implemented a practice that has created an enabling environment for youth ICT innovation to thrive are encouraged to participate. These may include regulatory authorities, entrepreneurial support organizations, incubators, accelerators, or colleges and universities. Submissions are to be made via the ATU website.
Announcing the deadline extension, the ATU Secretary General Mr. John Omo said, “We have chosen to extend the deadline because we want as many organizations as possible to come forward and submit their entries. An enabling environment that will tackle the challenges facing the youth in Africa can only be created when solution owners come together and share their best practices that can then be scaled and amplified across Africa to foster youth resilience.”
The competition comes at a time when the impact of COVID-19 on communities is becoming more and more visible. Youth are among the most vulnerable to this impact, facing challenges such as socioeconomic and workforce inclusion.