Milken Institute to award $500,000 in unrestricted funding to companies scaling technology to enhance circular economy practices

October 15, 2026 (Washington, DC)-The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation announced the 10 teams advancing to the Semifinalist Round of the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy, with $500,000 in unrestricted funding to innovative companies driving inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in Africa.

A total of $2 million in non-dilutive capital will be distributed for this prize, along with opportunities for global visibility, mentorship, and investor connections.

"Globally, the circular economy represents a $4.5 trillion opportunity. Africa is uniquely positioned to lead in this transition, leapfrogging legacy systems in favor of technology-enabled, regenerative models," said Emily Musil, managing director at the Milken Institute. "Through the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy, we are supporting entrepreneurs who are turning resource efficiency into market competitiveness, scalable growth, and good jobs. We are honored to help bring these solutions to the forefront."

As worldwide demand for compute power and natural resources grows and supply chains face ongoing disruption, circular models are becoming central to industrial competitiveness and stable employment. They secure the critical minerals, electronics, and water that power AI, and they help businesses meet new EU circularity requirements to stay competitive in European markets and beyond. This year's prize celebrates companies that are using next-gen technologies to scale commercially viable solutions that advance these practices while creating jobs and delivering measurable environmental and social impact across Africa.

Judges, representing expertise across circularity, industry, and social entrepreneurship will winnow the 10 semifinalist teams down to five finalists based on their commercial viability, market scalability, workforce and social impact, and circularity and environmental impact. Once the final round of judging is complete, a $1 million Grand Prize will be awarded at the 2027 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, alongside a $250,000 Runner-Up prize.

The 10 Semifinalists for the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program in Circular Economy:

• Bottle Logistics East Africa
  Team Lead: Louisa Gathecha
  Based in Kenya, Bottle Logistics East Africa is a technology-enabled circular economy company that combines digital reverse logistics with advanced industrial glass recovery infrastructure to collect, recover, recycle, reuse, and upcycle discarded glass into returnable packaging, high-quality glass cullet, and value-added circular products.
• Cold Hubs
  Team Lead: Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu
  Based in Nigeria, Cold Hubs designs, builds and operates 100 percent solar-powered walk-in cold rooms, refrigerated trucks, and reusable crates for outdoor food markets, fresh produce collection centers, and farm clusters to store and preserve perishable foods 24/7, extending their shelf life from 2 days to 21 days.
• Country Materials Ltd.
  Team Lead: Avith Philip
  Based in Tanzania, Country Materials is a tech-enabled circular steel company using AI and digital systems to identify, trace, and recover legitimate scrap metal and return it to productive use as raw material for Africa's steel industry.
• EKT Trade and Investment
  Team Lead: Kiros Teklu Berhe
  Based in Ethiopia, EKT is a circular manufacturing company that transforms plastic waste into high-value products, creating jobs, reducing pollution, and building a scalable circular economy in Africa.
• Papyrus Egypt
  Team Leads: Ramy Azer and Heba Nayil
  Based in Egypt and Australia, this engineering company has proven technology to convert banana plantation waste into environmentally sustainable and friendly biodegradable packaging and organic liquid fertilizers products.
• Regen Organics DBA Sanergy
  Team Leads: Ani Vallabhaneni and David Auerbach
  Based in Kenya, Regen Organics is building strong, resilient food systems for African farmers through a circular-economy model that converts polluting urban sanitation and organic waste into regenerative agricultural inputs, organic fertilizers, and biochar that restore soil, increase farmers' incomes, and mitigate climate change.
• SafeSip
  Team Lead: Faith Kuya
  SafeSip operates a dual-revenue circular economy model in Tanzania, converting post-consumer and agricultural plastic waste into ISO 4427 pressure-rated recycled resin and drip irrigation hardware, delivered to smallholder farmers as pay-per-liter Irrigation-as-a-Service with zero upfront capital outlay.
• Safi Organics
  Team Lead: Samuel Rigu
  Safi Organics is a Kenyan climate-tech company converting rice husks and sugarcane bagasse into Safi Sarvi^®, a carbon-negative organic fertilizer that increases crop yields by up to 30 percent and farmer incomes by up to 50 percent.
• Triple M Electrical and Electronic Contracting
  Team Lead: Mahmoud Montash
  Triple M is an Egyptian engineering company that uses diagnostic testing to extend the working life of electrical power infrastructure-purifying transformer oil and rehabilitating transformers, switchgear, and panels so that mineral oil, copper, and steel stay in service instead of becoming waste.
• Zafree
  Team Lead: Bethelhem Dejene
  Based in Ethiopia, Zafree Papers manufactures tree-free pulp and paper from agricultural residues, starting with banana farm waste, for the packaging industry.

Since awarding its first Grand Prize in 2023, the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program has supported visionary innovators and entrepreneurs across sectors, providing the capital, resources, mentorship, and networks needed to turn bold ideas into investment-worthy solutions. Now entering its fifth year, the prize community has grown to over 16,000 people across 162 countries, with more than 85 percent of the entrepreneurs based in Africa. To date, the program has catalyzed more than 31x in the value of its prize awards in follow-on funding, reached more than one million stakeholders, and delivered over 1,800 hours of capacity-building, mentorship, and media training.

For more information about the semifinalists and the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program, visit https://milkenmotsepeprize.org/.

FAQ

What is the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy?

The winning team will demonstrate the ability to reduce waste, keep materials in circulation, and deliver measurable environmental and social benefits through stronger, more resource-efficient value chains. The business model must be commercially viable, technology-enabled, and tailored to operate in Africa with a clear path to scale and support the creation of safe employment opportunities around the world. Teams will be evaluated based on commercial viability, market scalability, workforce and social impact, and circularity and environmental impact.

What can teams win?

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy offers $2 million in prizes, including a $1 million Grand Prize.

1. Semifinalists: Ten Semi-Finalists will receive $50,000 each.
2. Finalists: Five Finalists will receive $50,000 each.
3. Final awards: One company will receive a $1 million Grand Prize; One company will receive a $250,000 Runner-Up Prize

Who is eligible to participate?

Registration is free and open to everyone from around the world who meets the screening criteria, with certain exceptions defined below. The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy rewards established companies with a proven track record of reaching underserved communities with accessible and sustainable circular waste management solutions. Participants can be a single individual or a team.

Companies must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Over two years of continuous operation on the African continent
• Over $500,000 in revenue and raised capital (cumulative)
• Clear evidence of social impact and job creation
• Demonstrated operational readiness to deploy $1 million+ in funding

ABOUT THE MILKEN INSTITUTE

The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank focused on accelerating measurable progress on the path to a meaningful life. With a focus on financial, physical, mental, and environmental health, we bring together the best ideas and innovative resourcing to develop blueprints for tackling some of our most critical global issues through the lens of what's pressing now and what's coming next. For more information, visit milkeninstitute.org. 

ABOUT THE MOTSEPE FOUNDATION

The Motsepe Foundation was founded in 1999 by Dr. Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe. The goal of the Motsepe Foundation is to contribute toward eradicating poverty and to sustainably improve the living conditions and standards of living of poor, unemployed, and marginalized people in South Africa, Africa, and the world. In January 2013, Dr. Patrice Motsepe and Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe joined the Giving Pledge, which was started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Dr. Patrice Motsepe and his wife committed to give half of their wealth to the poor and for philanthropic purposes during their lifetime and beyond. For more information, visit https://www.motsepefoundation.org/.