Milken-Motsepe Prize Award Ceremony: Global Green Energy Winners | Global Conference 2024

Program Mission and Scale:

• The Milken-Mozespe Innovation Prize Program, co-founded by Mike Milken and Patrice Motsepe, aims to address the lack of reliable electricity for over 1 billion people globally, with a specific focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.
• The initiative provides not only financial rewards but also 3,000 hours of individualized mentoring, Stanford Online capacity building, and testing facilities at Stellenbosch University.
• Since inception, the program has funded 45 companies from 20 different countries, distributing over $4 million in prizes.
• The next award cycle, the Milken-Mozespe Prize in Fintech, has been announced with a $2 million prize purse and will be open for applications at milkenmozzepeprize.org.

Agricultural Sector Impact (Agriculture Prize):

• NoFeed, the winner of the inaugural Agritech Prize, expanded operations to supply over 150 fish farmers with sustainable feed, resulting in an average yield increase of 30% (ranging 20–40%).
• NoFeed's average increase in farmer income exceeded $350 per small-scale fish farmer.
• The company launched a new organic fertilizer, "Ecovita," reaching 500 crop farmers with reported yield increases of up to 75% and an average income gain of $300 per farmer.
• A new factory under construction aims to produce over 10 tons of feed daily and 20,000 liters of biofertilizer monthly.
• NoFeed's CEO, Diana Arembe, noted the company was shortlisted for the top 10 of the Food Planet Prize following their initial success.

Green Energy Innovation and Challenges:

• The Green Energy Prize selected 25 finalists from 12 countries across three continents, providing a total of $750,000 in funding ($400,000 for prototypes, $350,000 for testing).
• Just Add Water (Nigeria): Co-founder Joy Egbe highlighted a device recycling dirty water via solar panels to produce electricity, cooking gas, medical-grade oxygen, and clean drinking water, aiming to replace dangerous fossil fuel generators.
• Smart AgriCentres (UK/Uganda): Zoe Slattery reported that pilot communities saw average farmer income rise from $800 to $3,100 annually (nearly quadrupling) after commissioning the centers.
• Aftrac (UK/Malawi): Jonathan Wilson identified that standard microgrids often fail due to insufficient income for maintenance; their solution integrates solar electric tractors for deep bed farming to generate surplus and fund microgrid sustainability.
• Omnivat (Pan-African): Co-founder Randy Kabuya presented a modular system where smart containers communicate to build power grids, emphasizing African-led problem solving.
• Three G.E.G. (Global): Director Jordan Oxley introduced a thermoelectric generation system providing base-load, constant electricity independent of weather conditions.

Awards and Outcomes:

• Runner-Up: Omnivat was awarded the $250,000 second prize for their modular container-based energy grid solution.
• Grand Prize Winner: Aftrac was announced as the winner of the $1 million grand prize.
• Winner's Progress: Aftrac reported having two full-size prototype systems in Malawi ready for deployment, having moved from a concept in a bar to reality in roughly 18 months.
• Collaboration Dynamics: Despite fierce competition, finalists demonstrated significant peer support, with teams exchanging knowledge and resources during the one-year program.

Strategic Vision:

• Mike Milken emphasized that creating economic opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa is critical to the global future, citing that the majority of the world's future births will occur there.
• Patrice Motsepe framed the prize as a counter-narrative to negative perceptions of Africa, comparing the path to victory to sports where entitlement is non-existent and hard work is required.
• The program aims to bridge the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring entrepreneurs can succeed while addressing challenges in their home regions.