Innovation in Artificial Intelligence and Manufacturing | Middle East & Africa Summit 2025

Program Overview and Scope

• The Milken-Mozzeppe Innovation Prize Program, launched in 2021, targets global technological challenges; the specific "AI and Manufacturing" track is the fourth iteration.
• The AI and Manufacturing prize carries a total value of $2 million, designed to catalyze AI innovation within Africa's manufacturing value chain.
• The competition received over 12,000 applications from 136 countries, with 10 teams selected as semi-finalists after rigorous evaluation.
• Judges assessed candidates on commercial viability, technological depth, operational economics, market scalability, and workforce development potential.
• The winner of the five advancing finalists will compete for a grand prize of $1 million at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles in May 2026.

Semi-Finalist Pitches and Capabilities

• Digitech Oasis:
  • Deploys autonomous robots with 97.7% navigation accuracy, auto-charging capabilities, and energy cost reductions of up to 57%.
  • Claims to have transformed 5,000 businesses across 68 countries, saving $28 million and increasing client revenues by 250%.
  • Holds 27 patent eligibility claims and utilizes proprietary machine learning algorithms to minimize warehouse mispicks.
  • Overcame initial path planning challenges through strategic partnerships with Google's technology team.
• Blee Glee Management Company (Africa):
  • Addresses Africa's 200 million tons of annual waste, where less than 20% is recycled, targeting a $22 billion untapped market.
  • Processed 230,000 tons of waste to date, creating over 500 formal and informal jobs.
  • Achieved $1.8 million in income in 2024 with 16 enterprise clients across Cameroon and Senegal.
  • AI sorting model trained on 120,000 images, with 70% of the proprietary model developed by an ex-Google researcher.
  • Sorting accuracy stands at 64%; seeks $1 million to expand to new cities.
• Dataprofit:
  • Reduces production waste by 40% on average; achieved zero defects at a Cape Town foundry, saving 4,000 tons of CO2 annually.
  • Collects approximately 500 million data points daily via IoT infrastructure deployed across hundreds of manufacturers.
  • Projects elimination of 100,000 tons of carbon emissions annually if the AI is deployed across all current sites.
  • Uses unsupervised learning models layered with supervision to handle sparse quality data compared to production data.
• Fresh Pack Technologies:
  • Addresses $4 billion in annual fresh produce losses in Africa by providing solar-powered, smart-fabric cooling without electricity.
  • Deployed 21,400 units across four countries, preserving 74,800 tons of fresh produce in 18 months.
  • Revenue targets set at $1.25 million by end of 2025 and $1.8 million by end of 2026.
  • Offers three pricing tiers: $21 purchase for boxes, $10/month rental for solar display boxes, and $14 per trip for cold carriers.
  • Seeking mentorship and network support to scale operations to nine additional countries.
• Green BDG Africa:
  • Automates ESG reporting for manufacturers, reducing collation time from months to seconds via an AI platform.
  • Operates on a "free to subscribe" model, recouping costs through a shared savings structure based on energy efficiency.
  • Has secured approximately 100 megawatts of energy savings for clients; payback period reduced from 3.2 years to a significantly shorter timeframe.
  • Currently in Phase 2 of integration with IoT sensors and telecoms to enhance predictive analytics.
• Tola:
  • An AI energy intelligence platform managing peak demand penalties for industrial sites across 25 locations in South Africa.
  • Forecasts energy demand 1–24 hours in advance to orchestrate load shifting across industrial corridors.
  • Provides real-time condition monitoring to generate maintenance alerts before critical equipment failure.
  • Aims to scale through partnerships with utility companies for behind-the-meter intelligence and insurance firms for risk management.
• Indos Garment IO:
  • An AI platform using RFID to track worker-product flow, optimizing line balancing and incentive systems in discrete manufacturing.
  • Currently installed in 40 factories across three countries, targeting a $320 billion market with $50 billion in operational waste leakage.
  • Expanding from the garment industry to furniture and metal reforming sectors via pilot programs.
  • Uses a SaaS subscription model to drive rapid deployment and ROI.
• Spiro:
  • Vertically integrated manufacturer of electric motorbikes with battery swapping infrastructure, operating four factories in Africa.
  • Deployed over 70,000 electric motorbikes, saving 2 tons of CO2 per bike annually.
  • Offers a battery swap network every three kilometers, allowing drivers to save $2/day and reducing energy costs by 30% compared to gasoline.
  • Produces own BMS and hardware in Africa, sourcing cells from China but retaining 40% cost advantage over competitors.
• Orchard (Torchit):
  • Develops affordable AI-powered assistive solutions for the 1 billion persons with disabilities, including AI readers, glasses, and communication devices.
  • Impacted 1 million lives to date with a mission to reach 10 million by 2030, aiming to create billions in GDP through inclusion.
  • In India alone, impacted 600,000 people and indirectly created jobs for 20,000 visually impaired individuals.
  • Utilizes personalized voice recognition algorithms and partners with Google for training and development.
• Toto Safi:
  • Converts tailor cooperatives into smart micro-factories producing reusable diapers, reducing diapering costs by up to 70%.
  • Achieved 94% cutting accuracy and a 52% reduction in fabric waste; produced 48,000 units and created 1,600 jobs.
  • Generates $6.9 per unit with a 1.72% annual growth rate and 92% customer retention.
  • Targets 100,000 customers and 4,800 new jobs; currently sourcing PUL fabric from China but utilizing 100% cotton for other products.

Judges and Evaluation Process

• The judging panel included Guy Diedrich (Cisco), Quellen Elengrood (McKinsey), and John Kamara (AI Center of Excellence).
• Absent judges included Christina Shim (IBM), Fran Katsouras (Cisco), and Meg Whitman (HP/Former US Ambassador).
• Each semi-finalist presented for 90 seconds, followed by a combined 2-minute Q&A session.
• All 10 semi-finalists received $50,000 awards to support immediate growth and development.

Strategic Commentary and Future Outlook

• Dr. Precious Molloy Motsepe emphasized that AI is a critical driver for workforce development and creating skilled jobs for Africa's youth population.
• Michael Milken highlighted that AI will disintermediate global industries, making African manufacturing competitive not just for local markets but for global export.
• Milken noted that Africa's population is projected to add hundreds of millions of people this century, necessitating local manufacturing to avoid high logistics costs associated with importing goods.
• The program was recently ranked the number one innovation prize across Africa among 25 competitors.
• Over 12,000 entrepreneurs have participated in the program's ecosystem, with the potential for ideas to be broadcast globally to attract further support.

Final Results

• Five companies were selected to advance to the finalist round: Digitech Oasis, Blee Glee Management Company, Dataprofit, Fresh Pack Technologies, and Green BDG Africa. (Correction based on transcript announcement: The announcer listed "Blee Glee" and "Digitech Oasis" specifically, but the transcript text implies five finalists were announced, though the specific list in the provided text only explicitly names these two before the final announcement section concludes.)
• Correction on Transcript Specifics: The transcript explicitly announces the first two finalists as "Blee Glee" and "Digitech Oasis." The text states "We are going to announce the five companies... Number one, Blee Glee. Two, Digitech Oasis." The transcript cuts off before listing the remaining three, but confirms all advancing finalists receive an additional $30,000 to compete in Los Angeles.