Africhi 2025 - Design Competition
"Recentering African Wisdom: Think Local, Act Global"
Link to the applicant form
Overview
The "Recentering African Wisdom: Think Local, Act Global" design competition invites African designers, start-ups, and digital innovators to apply African indigenous knowledge to address pressing African and global challenges such as health care, agriculture (green tech), and finance (fintech). Participants will reimagine ancient African practices and traditions to create scalable, modern solutions, fostering sustainability and cultural preservation.
In this competition, participants will show how African wisdom can inspire innovative solutions to global problems such as health care, agriculture and financial inclusion. By participating, you will engage with African traditions, collaborate with experts, and work toward building practical, scalable solutions. The competition emphasises sustainability, accessibility, cultural integration, and modern design, offering an opportunity to learn from interdisciplinary teams.
Participants will be offered mentorship from industry experts, ensuring that winning ideas are feasible and can be implemented at scale. Selected projects will also have a platform for global exposure, enabling international collaboration and recognition.
Objectives
- Elevate African indigenous knowledge and wisdom to address global challenges.
- Promote designs that focus on sustainability, resource efficiency, and social equity.
- Highlight the role of local traditions in addressing modern issues like health care, agriculture, and finance.
- Encourage solutions that reflect the potential of African wisdom to tackle global problems while promoting sustainable development.
Categories
Participants will explore how African traditions and wisdom can inspire solutions to address global issues, including but not limited to:
- Fintech – Microfinance: Reimagining African communal finance systems like savings groups (e.g., "tontines, Esusu") to drive global fintech solutions, enhancing financial inclusion and access to capital for underserved populations.
- Health Tech: How can we use digital innovations to improve African healthcare by integrating traditional health knowledge with modern technology? Explore how we can create affordable health care that can be a blend of both African traditional remedies and modern health solutions. How can we merge these two approaches to improve health outcomes?
Here are a few more examples of successful health tech efforts in Africa:
- Mobile Health Clinics (Botswana)
Botswana’s government operates Mobile Health Clinics in Botswana that use GPS-equipped vehicles to deliver healthcare services to remote areas. These clinics travel to rural villages, providing primary healthcare, vaccinations, and maternal care. The program has helped bridge the gap for communities far from urban centres, improving health outcomes for isolated populations. - M-Pesa’s Health Initiatives (Kenya)
While M-Pesa is widely known for its mobile payment services, it has also partnered with health programs to facilitate healthcare financing. In the M-Pesa Health Efforts, users can save money for medical treatments and receive loans for healthcare. For instance, it supports micro-insurance schemes like Linda Jamii, which allows low-income households to access healthcare by making small, manageable contributions via their mobile phones. - The SMS for Life Project (Tanzania)
Launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, SMS for Life is a program that uses text messaging to track and manage stock levels of essential medicines in rural health facilities. Health workers send SMS updates about stock levels, helping prevent shortages of critical drugs like malaria treatments and vaccines. This system improves inventory management and ensures the timely delivery of medical supplies.
Learn more: - mHero (Liberia)
Developed in response to the Ebola crisis, mHero is a two-way mobile communication system used by the Liberian Ministry of Health to connect with frontline health workers. mHero allows the government to send vital information via text messages to health workers in the field, enabling real-time data sharing and rapid responses during health emergencies. It’s been instrumental in improving communication in public health responses. - RemindMe (Nigeria)
RemindMe is an automated management and reminder system for immunisation for mothers in Africa, powered by USSD and Voice Technology. RemindMe also provides hospitals in the local vicinity with vaccine inventory management services via USSD technology.
These initiatives demonstrate the power of simple, scalable health tech solutions in improving healthcare delivery and access across Africa. The competition encourages designs that bridge the divide between modern medicine and traditional African health practices, making healthcare more inclusive and accessible across the continent.
- Green Tech: Exploring green technologies inspired by indigenous methods, drawing from Africa’s deep-rooted knowledge and sustainable practices. The focus will be on developing scalable solutions that are both environmentally and economically sustainable, empowering local communities while serving as models for global adaptation across all areas of life, such as transportation, energy, agriculture, coastal and water management, and waste management. These solutions will reflect Africa’s holistic approach to living in harmony with nature, addressing climate challenges by integrating traditional wisdom with innovative technology. See below some examples:
- Francis Kéré’s Sustainable Architecture:
Architect Francis Kéré uses local materials like clay and passive cooling designs in projects like Gando Primary School in Burkina Faso. His work blends traditional techniques with modern methods, creating eco-friendly buildings suited to local climates.
- Zaï Technique in Agriculture:
Practised in the Sahel, the Zaï technique involves digging pits filled with organic matter to retain water and revitalise degraded land. It's an indigenous method now scaled with modern tools to improve food security and soil health.
- Solar-Powered Water Pumps in Kenya:
By harnessing solar energy, communities in Kenya use solar-powered pumps for water access, blending renewable technology with traditional water conservation practices, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
- Mangrove Restoration in West Africa:
Indigenous knowledge guides mangrove restoration efforts in Senegal and Gambia, using local expertise and drones for monitoring. This protects coasts from erosion, supports marine life, and sequesters carbon.
- Biogas from Waste in Rwanda:
Rural Rwandan communities convert agricultural waste into biogas for cooking, reducing deforestation and air pollution, and supporting sustainable farming by using traditional waste management techniques.
- Composting Toilets in Ethiopia:
Composting toilets turn waste into compost, improving soil fertility while addressing sanitation needs in rural Ethiopia. This builds on indigenous methods of circular waste management.
- Bamboo Bicycles in Ghana:
The Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative creates affordable, eco-friendly bicycles from bamboo, a locally abundant resource. This supports green transportation and local economies, leveraging traditional bamboo craftsmanship.
Why join the competition?
- Portfolio Sample: Participants will create impactful projects that enhance their project portfolio.
- Networking: The competition offers a chance to connect with global design experts, African thought leaders, and sustainability professionals.
- Learn about HCI: Participants will deepen their understanding of human-computer interaction
- Global Exposure: Winning projects will be showcased at a global level, giving teams the chance to collaborate with international organisations.
- Mentorship: Participants will receive guidance from a professional team of fintech, health tech and green tech experts.
Eligibility
The competition is open to teams only, comprising designers, researchers, tech professionals and students whose work incorporates African wisdom and perspectives. Cross-disciplinary collaborations are highly encouraged. Teams must consist of at least 2 and no more than 5 contributors.
Important Timeline - All times are in Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time zone. When the deadline is day D, the last time to submit is when D ends AoE.
- Registration of Interest/ Application form: Starting July 1 to July 31
- Submission Deadline: September 15th, 2025
- Committee review for requirements completeness and Finalists announcement: September 30th, 2025
Submission Requirements
- A proof of concept or final prototype of your innovation with a written description (minimum 1000 words excluding tables and figures), which may include links to video or other internet content explaining how the design integrates African wisdom and addresses the selected theme.
- The submission should include short summaries of the research, evaluation, and impact.
- It should include visual representations (such as sketches, prototypes, or videos) that demonstrate the design’s concept.
- 10-minute video pitch illustrating the impact of the solution and how it can be scaled globally.
Judging Criteria
1. Innovation and Relevance
- How novel and creative is the proposed solution in addressing challenges within the competition's themes (fintech, health tech, green tech)?
- Does the design introduce new ideas, approaches, or adaptations that meaningfully address African problems?
2. Cultural Integration
- How effectively does the project incorporate African traditions, wisdom, and perspectives?
- Does the design reflect a genuine engagement with and respect for local cultures and communities?
- Are the cultural elements seamlessly woven into the proposed solution rather than being tokenistic?
3. Global Applicability and Scalability
- Can the solution be adapted to other regions or global contexts while retaining its cultural integrity?
- Does the solution offer a clear path for scaling and implementation beyond its initial scope?
4. Sustainability and Feasibility
- Does the project promote environmental, social, and economic sustainability?
- Is the solution practical to implement given existing resources, technologies, and infrastructure?
5. Research Quality and Design Process
- Was thorough research conducted to understand the problem, the target audience, and the cultural context?
- How explicitly does the submission connect user-focused research findings to design decisions?
- Are the design methodologies appropriate and well-documented?
7. Clarity and Communication
- Is the submission clear, well-structured, and easy to understand?
- Do the visual materials (prototypes, sketches, videos) and video submission effectively convey the design’s concept and potential impact, illustrating the design’s relevance, feasibility and scalability?
8. Team Collaboration and Engagement (only applicable to teams)
- How well did the team engage with local communities or experts during the design process?
- Is there evidence of teamwork that leverages unique strengths and experiences?
Evaluation Process
The AfriCHI design challenge evaluation process is divided into two stages: An online pre-selection, sorting out all entries - and a physical final jury, deciding on the winners on the conference week.
The online pre-selection stage will comprise seasoned industry mentors who will evaluate the entries based on the eight (8) judging criteria, developed by the design challenge committee. They will select the final three (3) submissions that will progress to the physical final jury.
The jurors are international design experts who are ready to provide detailed feedback on the submissions to participants. Each juror enters his or her detailed assessment of each entry, which will then be available to ALL participants as feedback.
Awards & Prizes
All teams will receive a mentorship session to guide the development of their submission.
The final three submissions will be showcased at the conference in a form of poster display and 1-3 mins pitch video. The three teams will receive a discounted registration to attend the AfriCHI 2025 conference.
Jury Panel
The jury will consist of experts from Africa and around the world, specializing in areas such as fintech, sustainability, resource management, and cultural preservation. Judges will be selected for their ability to assess both cultural integration and innovation.
How to Apply
Submissions can be made by filling an online form. Applicants will have access to webinars and mentorship opportunities during the submission period.
Click the LINK to register your team and interest.
Mentorship Details:
- Each team will be paired with one mentor and you will receive three or four online mentorship sessions before submission. Wafaa Sabil and Joseph will deliver an orientation session. ( Date TBD).
- Mentors will be selected who:
- Are experts in the competition categories
- Have experience in product development
- Mentors will be matched with teams based on the category the team applied for.
- Mentor-team meetings will take place via Zoom or Google Meet.
- Meetings will be held for at least 30 minutes, weekly or biweekly, at the mentor’s discretion.
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