LOS ANGELES AND JOHANNESBURG (February 1, 2023) — The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation today kicked off the final phase of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech. Starting February 1, the remaining 22 competing Finalist teams will have 22 days to highlight their innovations and garner votes for the People’s Choice bonus prize. The team with the most votes will be announced in May at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.
The global innovation competition launched in April 2021. More than 3,300 people from 105 countries across six continents registered, and 25 finalists were announced in April 2022. Each team received $10,000 to develop and test their designs to improve economic value for small- and medium-sized farms in Africa. In May, judges will award the $1 million Grand Prize, with additional prize money distributed among Second and Third Place winners, and bonus prizes for the Most Creative Use of Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies and the People’s Choice.
“We included a People’s Choice component for the design of this competition for two main reasons,” said Emily Musil Church, PhD, senior director at the Milken Institute. “First, to incentivize innovators to communicate the importance of their solutions, which could be game-changing, to potential new markets. Second, to give the public the exposure to a wide array of AgriTech solutions and weigh in on those that seem most useful and relevant to them.”
Finalist teams were chosen for their ability to:
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Increase net economic value to the farmer
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Increase productivity at harvest and/or decrease post-harvest loss
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Reduce costs for farmers
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Provide a viable and sustainable business model
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Be implemented by small and medium-sized farms in Africa
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Develop or integrate innovative technologies
Voting for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech People’s Choice bonus prize is open now through February 22, 2023, at 1 pm EST/8 pm CAT. An online ballot form is available, allowing voters to cast one vote for their preferred team.
For more about the Prize in AgriTech and the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program, please visit milkenmotsepeprize.org.
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About the Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. With a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health, we bring together the best ideas and innovative resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of our most critical global issues through the lens of what’s pressing now and what’s coming next. For more information, visit: www.milkeninstitute.org.
About the Motsepe Foundation
The Motsepe Foundation was founded in 1999 by Dr. Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe. The goal of the Motsepe Foundation is to contribute towards eradicating poverty and to sustainably improve the living conditions and standards of living of poor, unemployed and marginalised people in South Africa, Africa and the world. In January 2013, Dr. Patrice Motsepe and Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe joined the Giving Pledge, which was started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates. The Motsepes committed to give half of their wealth to the poor and for philanthropic purposes during their lifetime and beyond.