TotalEnergies launches 3rd edition of Startupper of the Year Challenge

The challenge aims to support good ideas and projects that help address a widespread problem affecting communities in several countries.

The project could be about providing educational opportunities, reducing child mortality, improving public health, developing access to electricity in rural areas, improving road safety on the roads or building houses with eco-friendly materials.

In a statement issued on Thursday, TotalEnergies said the goal of this year's edition is to "reaffirm its commitment to supporting the socio-economic development of the countries in which the it operates in Africa."

"For this edition, the Startupper of the Year Challenge by TotalEnergies will support and reward young local entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35, who either have a business creation project or a startup that is under three years old, regardless of the sector of activity," reads the statement.

The "best business creation project",  "best startup under 3 years old" and the "best female entrepreneur" will each receive Ksh.1.65 million.

The prize for "best female entrepreneur" is a new feature for this 3rd edition, which aims to encourage female entrepreneurship on the continent.

The three criteria for evaluating the projects will be their response to the challenges of sustainable development, their innovative character and their feasibility and development potential.

The last edition of TotalEnergies saw the participation of 55 countries worldwide where they had 50,000 registrations on the website for 15,400 completed applications.

Registration for the third edition will open on Nov 4 and will go up to Dec 23. 
Winners of the previous edition were Rose Moses of ECO Makaa Solutions, the first runner up, James Nyamai of ECO Makaa Solutions, and second runner up, Abraham Mbuthia of Uza point.

The first edition of the Startupper of the Year Challenge was in 2016 and the second one was in 2019.