Milken-Motsepe Prize Circular Economy Competition

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy supports African companies that use technology to scale circular-economy solutions across industries such as agriculture, plastics, electronics, textiles, and construction.

What it offers

• Total prize purse of $2 million, including a $1 million Grand Prize and a $250,000 runner-up award.
• Semifinalists receive $50,000 each (10 teams).
• Finalists receive $50,000 each (5 teams).
• Access to exclusive networking and a chance to pitch to industry leaders.

Who can apply

• Companies operating for over 2 years.
• Companies with over $500k in revenue and raised capital.
• Companies with institutional, corporate, or public-sector partnerships.
• Companies whose solutions are currently deployed on the African continent.
• Companies demonstrating social impact, job creation, and operational readiness to deploy $1M+ in funding.

What you'll do

• Submit designs and business models.
• Advance to semifinalist stage (10 teams) and pitch innovations.
• Finalists submit additional materials for the grand prize.
• Winning team demonstrates a commercially viable, technology-enabled circular economy business operating in Africa with a clear path to scale, reducing waste and delivering measurable environmental and social impact.

How to apply

• Sign in and apply via the Prize Portal.
• Submit category-specific metrics relevant to industries such as agriculture & food systems, plastics & packaging, electronics, textiles, and construction & the built environment.

Good to know

• Teams are evaluated on commercial viability, market scalability, workforce and social impact, and circularity and environmental impact.
• The prize aims to highlight scalable circular economy solutions that can reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions in Africa.