Johnson and Johnson launches Africa Innovation Challenge

Johnson and Johnson (J&J) has launched the Champions of Science Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 with a call on African innovators to submit ideas for innovative technologies, products and solutions to create positive impact for African communities.

The challenge, which was launched at the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum on Friday in Cape Town, focuses on identifying scalable and sustainable solutions to six major health and environmental problems for African’s population.

A statement from the Company and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the growing number of innovation hubs throughout Africa is sparking in new generation of entrepreneurs, who are innovating and finding new solutions for issues facing their communities.

Quoting Dr Josh Ghaim, the Chief Technology Officer at J&J Consumer Incorporation, the statement said the goal of the challenge was to expand the company’s support for Africa’s entrepreneurs by pushing the boundaries of creative solutions to meet several areas of urgent need with six new solution categories.

He said with the six new Africa Innovation Challenge 2.0 represented an extraordinary opportunity for the region’s growing community of innovators to showcase new ideas with the potential for broad societal impact.

Quoting Seema Kumar, the Vice President in charge of Innovation, Global Public Health and Science Policy Communication at J&J, said the company believed that great idea could come from anyone, anywhere and “we work with entrepreneurs around world to relentlessly pursue innovations that advance and enhance the health of everyone, everywhere”.

The statement said the Challenge 2.0 was designed to address the critical unmet needs of the continent and local communities in Africa while providing support Africa-based entrepreneurs in creating innovative health care products and services.

Among the selection criteria, the statement said entries must demonstrate the potential for scale from proof of concept stage to long-term sustainability.

It said the Challenge participants with the best solutions would receive up to US50,000 dollars in funding and mentorship from the global network of scientists, engineers and business managers within the J&J family of companies to bring new solutions forward.

The statement said challenge submissions may originate from anywhere in Africa, and from one or more individuals, teams or companies.

It said deadline to submit applications is January 16, 2019 adding that applicants and winners remained free to continue the further development of their ideas on their own and that award recipients would be awarded in spring 2019.

To apply for the Challenge and review the applicable terms and conditions, prospects are urged to visit the Africa Innovation Challenge website.