By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Innovators with groundbreaking solutions to restore the planet have been urged to enter the 2025 Earthshot Prize (TEP), which has MultiChoice as the official Africa nominator.
For the 2024 edition, it recorded a record nomination and it is expected that the next edition will be bigger and better.
Entries for the 2025 cohort, which have officially opened, seek innovative solutions across five critical Earthshots: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix Our Climate.
Those eligible for TEP include individuals, communities, businesses, and organisations across Africa and beyond, but must follow certain criteria.
It was stated that the nominations must be impactful by demonstrating tangible positive effects on the environment, must be inspiring by motivating others to act and join the global movement for change, and must be inclusive by benefitting communities and promoting equitable access to resources.
The entries must be submitted on or before December 4, 2024, according to a statement made available to Business Post.
At the heart of TEP’s mission is a determination to bring environmental solutions to scale as fast as possible, to reach the goal of protecting and restoring the planet by 2030.
For the 2024 programme, held in South Africa, the first on African soil, over 2,000 entries were received from 139 countries, demonstrating a growing global momentum for environmental innovation.
The star-studded awards ceremony was broadcast live to millions of people across the continent by MultiChoice, the official African broadcast partner of TEP.
The event celebrated several African-led initiatives, including the Green Africa Youth Organisation (GAYO) from Ghana, the winner of the Clean Our Air Earthshot. GAYO is tackling air pollution with its innovative Zero Waste Model; and Keep IT Cool from Kenya, the winner of the Build a Waste-Free World Earthshot, Keep IT Cool is revolutionising food preservation for small-scale farmers and fishers with its sustainable refrigeration systems.
These winners, along with all other TEP recipients, exemplify the power of local solutions to address global challenges and contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Each winner receives £1 million in prize money to scale their impactful solutions.