Future Energy Leaders Innovation Challenge 2026 (Cash prizes, Mentorship + Incubation support)

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Applications are open for Future Energy Leaders Innovation Challenge 2026. Do you have an innovative idea that could transform Africa’s energy future? The Future of Energy Conference (FEC) 2026 invites you to apply for its Innovation Challenge.

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has officially opened applications for the Future Energy Leaders Innovation Challenge 2026. Anchored under the premier Future of Energy Conference (FEC 2026), this challenge is designed to surface, accelerate, and fund the next generation of groundbreaking, low-carbon energy solutions tailored specifically for the African context.

This platform highlights, supports, and accelerates low-carbon and energy solutions tailored for Africa. If you are working on sustainable energy access, clean cooking, circular economy ideas, or lithium-ion battery innovation, this is your chance to present your solution at one of Africa’s top energy events. African nationals aged 15 to 35, whether living on the continent or abroad, can apply at any stage from a working model to a pilot-tested concept.

Future Energy Leaders Innovation Challenge Tracks

The Challenge has two tracks.

Track 1, the Pan-African Low Carbon Innovation Track, welcomes a wide range of practical and disruptive ideas in power systems, digital energy, industrial energy, and more.
Track 2, the Afro-Hackathon Track, focuses on lithium-ion battery design, applications, and value chain development, with support from partners like AUDA-NEPAD, AMDC, Africa Change Lab, and UNDP.
Both tracks use a multi-stage selection process, including application review, virtual interviews, and an Innovathon that includes a case series. The process ends with a Final Pitch Event at FEC 2026 in Accra, Ghana, on August 25 and 26, 2026.

Benefits

Finalists and winners in the Innovation Challenge will gain access to a range of opportunities designed to support the development, visibility, and scaling of their solutions:

Opportunity to pitch their innovations at the Future of Energy Conference (FEC) 2026
Exposure to policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and potential strategic partners
Cash prizes to support further research, development, and prototyping of their innovations
Continued mentorship and incubation support under ACEP’s Climate Innovation Hub

Eligibility Criteria

The Challenge targets young African innovators. To be considered eligible for the Challenge, applicants must meet the following requirements:

Stage of Development
Submissions must fall within one of the following development categories:
- Ideation with model/simulation: For innovators who have clearly conceptualised their solution and can demonstrate its functionality through a model, simulation, or structured framework, but have not yet built a working prototype
- Early-stage prototype: For innovators who have developed an initial working version of their solution, but have not yet tested it with users or in a real-world environment.
- Pilot-tested concept: For innovators who have tested their solution in a real-world setting or with target users and have generated initial feedback, but have not yet achieved full commercialisation or large-scale deployment.
- Please note that purely conceptual ideas without demonstration of feasibility will not be considered.
Originality and Relevance
- Solutions should demonstrate original thinking or meaningful adaptation. Modifications to existing solutions must show clear improvements in cost, usability, or contextual relevance.
Participation Requirements
- Applicants must be nationals of an African country and must be between 15 and 35 years old.
- Participants may be based in Africa or in the diaspora, provided their innovations are relevant to African contexts. Team applications are allowed, however, only one representative per team will be supported to attend the final event in Accra.