Deadline Date: June 30, 2026
The Africa Sustainable Futures Awards is offering to support innovative private sector-led solutions that address development challenges and promote sustainable economic growth across Africa.
The programme focuses on key sectors including energy access through innovative and efficient electricity solutions that support households, agriculture, and industry; critical non-energy infrastructure such as transport, logistics, tourism, water and sanitation, healthcare, and digital connectivity; agribusiness initiatives that strengthen food production, integrate smallholder farmers into value chains, and promote sustainable rural economies; manufacturing champions that drive industrial development, job creation, technology transfer, and supply chain integration; innovation showcase projects highlighting early-stage entrepreneurial solutions with transformative potential; and excellence awards recognising initiatives with outstanding innovation, impact, scalability, financial viability, and sustainability.
The Awards are designed to highlight commercially viable private sector initiatives that offer scalable and resilient solutions to development challenges. They emphasise the importance of building self-sustaining economic models that contribute to job creation, human development, and long-term competitiveness across African economies.
The initiative is jointly launched by the Financial Times and the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and focuses on showcasing projects that demonstrate innovation, impact, and strong operational models. It also evaluates how organisations use technology and creative approaches to manage risks and achieve scale.
The Awards are open to all private sector organisations with projects that demonstrate measurable impact in addressing development challenges. They focus on recognising initiatives that strengthen local ecosystems, support inclusive growth, and contribute to sustainable development across the continent.
The categories include Access to Energy, Critical Infrastructure (non-energy), Agribusiness, Manufacturing Champions, Judges’ Award for Excellence, and Innovation Showcase, each highlighting specific areas of economic transformation and development impact.
For more information, visit FT Live.
