Innovation is out there and the next big idea might be sitting in the mind of a rural public school learner just waiting to blossom, now is the chance to change lives.
Sitting in the mind of a public school learner could be the solution that saves lives. It could be the cure for cancer, the next great political mind or what is hoped for in this case, the next big solution in fighting drought and water scarcity.
Envisionit Capital Solutions, a financial services business based in Johannesburg, has launched an environmental competition to find innovation. The prize pool is an astounding R1 Million in cash prizes and bursaries.
The initiative will provide young learners from Grade 9 and 10 in public schools across South Africa the opportunity to channel their energy, enthusiasm and creativity into collaborations to invent sustainable, cost-effective solutions for an identified countrywide problem. With an estimated 1.2 billion young people aged 10-19 years globally*, there are plenty of young minds with the potential to create solutions for the challenges facing our planet today.
“At Envisionit we believe innovation is the key to unleashing increased levels of entrepreneurship and thus job creation. This year’s Envisionit Prize enables us to place young people at the epicentre of innovation, by empowering them in creating solutions that solve countrywide challenges,” said Terence Naidu, founder and managing director of the Envisionit group of companies.
How the Competiton works
Entries need to address the question: “How do we create a cost-effective and sustainable water-harvesting solution in South Africa?”.
The competition is spread over three phases, with the first phase requiring entrants to provide a detailed concept design for a water-harvesting system.
During Phase 2, selected groups will then be required to present their concepts to a judging panel, and those groups progressing to the final stage will be expected to build a prototype using 75% recyclable materials which can produce 50-100 litres of water per day and cost a maximum of 5c per litre to harvest the water.
Prize Info
With a maximum of two entries per school and groups comprising not more than three learners each, the prize will be awarded to the groups that invent or innovate a water-harvesting system that is low cost, sustainable, commercially viable and scalable.
The winning group will be awarded an R50 000 cash prize and bursaries to the value of R450 000.
Second place receives R30 000 in cash and to the value of R270 000 while the third-placed group will receive R20 000 in cash and bursaries to the value of R180 000.
You can find full details on how to enter here.
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