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Home / Winners

Real young Africans.
Real ventures.

Every finalist below shipped something — solar irrigation, bio-fuel from insect waste, paving blocks from plastic. Browse by year.

2
1st Runner Up

Collins Nyakoe

GreenLead
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology
1
2023 Overall Winner

Ian Nyongesa

EduYetu
Technical University of Kenya
3
2nd Runner Up

Gladys Mwende

GreenTech Collectors
Technical University of Mombasa
2025 Demo Day · in pictures

The room showed up.

Strathmore School of Tourism & Hospitality · Nairobi · sponsored by ABSA, Sanlam Allianz, MK-Africa and the British Council.

40finalists pitched
9partner brands
3scholarships awarded
Muthoni Kanyana opens the 2025 Demo Day.
Founder Muthoni Kanyana opens the 2025 Demo Day.
The mascot makes its yearly appearance.
Strathmore The mascot makes its yearly appearance.
Finalists in the front row.
Audience Finalists in the front row.
A finalist makes the pitch.
On the mic A finalist makes the pitch.
Judges before the deliberations.
Jury Judges before the deliberations.
Pitching the venture in 5 minutes.
Pitch Pitching the venture in 5 minutes.
Faces in the room — the next cohort listens.
Audience Faces in the room — the next cohort listens.
Certificates handed out.
Awards Certificates handed out.
Sponsors, judges and partners on stage.
Partners Sponsors, judges and partners on stage.
Behind the scenes — the scoring panel.
Backstage Behind the scenes — the scoring panel.
Phones up. The reel writes itself.
Crowd Phones up. The reel writes itself.

Want the long-form recap, with venture profiles and post-mortems?

Read on the blog →

Browse the archive

2023 2021 2020 2019 2017
2021 1 finalists
3
Finalists

Cohort 2021 Finalists

SDGs 6–11 thematic cohort
15 universities across East Africa
2020 4 finalists
3
Cohort

Cohort 2020

Digital inclusion · SDG 10
Pan-African universities
1
Overall winner

Sharon Anyango Onyango

Ecotopia Pavers — recycled-plastic paving stones · prize: KSh 100,000
JKUAT
2
1st runners-up

Derrick Bundi

Beads n Threads — sustainable craft enterprise · prize: KSh 75,000
Kabarak University, Nakuru
3
2nd runners-up

Brian Ombati

Prepaid Water Meter — affordable household metering · prize: KSh 50,000
Technical University of Kenya
2019 4 finalists
3
Cohort

Cohort 2019

Inaugural Pan-African expansion
Pan-African universities
1
Overall winner

Stephen Muchiri

Auto Alcoblow — automated breath-alcohol detector
JKUAT
2
1st runners-up

Ruth Gathii

Power in Plastics — plastic waste → energy
JKUAT
3
2nd runners-up

Cynthia Nkanai

Keep a Child Warm — affordable warm clothing supply
Kenyatta University
2017 2 finalists
3
Winner

Amos Njiraini

Winning idea · USIU-Africa
USIU-Africa University
3
Winner

Winfred Abuyabo

Winning idea · Maseno
Maseno University

Your little idea
belongs in our big community.

Free to join. Free to learn. Free to win. Open to every young African with an idea worth backing.

Join the 2026 waitlist → Or peek inside →