BERLIN – 7 October 2014. Elvis Austins, founder of Nigerian sustainable development initiative SpellAfrica, had his progress in helping Africa’s young people to spell English recognised when it won the first Global Innovation Award at a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday 7 October.
SpellAfrica uses mobile phones to deliver an SMS-based service to help improve users’ poor standard of English. A premium “mVocabulary” package is complemented by a completely free programme offering lessons eight times a month. Austins said he was inspired to develop the service after failing to learn proper spelling when he was at school in Nigeria.
The Global Innovation Award aims to recognise the most innovative start-ups outside the EU that bring new technologies, products or services to market. It was sponsored by ESASTAP Plus, an innovation platform supported by the European Commission and the South African government. To be eligible, start-ups had to be formed after 1 January 2011 outside the 28 EU member states, G8 member states and FP7 associated countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey).
The winners were chosen by the Science|Business Innovation Board from a shortlist drawn up by a jury drawn from academia, policy and intellectual property.
The full list of finalists chosen included founders and leaders of the following organisations (in alphabetical order):
• Winner: Elvis Austins, SpellAfrica Initiative, Nigeria.
• Runner-up: Jonathan Miller, Solar Plus Energy Investments (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
• Runner-up: Neil du Preez, Mellowcabs, South Africa
For more information about the Global Innovation Award, and the full list of selection committee members, visit www.sciencebusiness.net/Events/InnovationConnection.
For further information, contact:
Maryline Fiaschi
Director, Science|Business +32 477 50 40 78
[email protected]
www.sciencebusiness.net
SpellAfrica uses mobile phones to deliver an SMS-based service to help improve users’ poor standard of English. A premium “mVocabulary” package is complemented by a completely free programme offering lessons eight times a month. Austins said he was inspired to develop the service after failing to learn proper spelling when he was at school in Nigeria.
The Global Innovation Award aims to recognise the most innovative start-ups outside the EU that bring new technologies, products or services to market. It was sponsored by ESASTAP Plus, an innovation platform supported by the European Commission and the South African government. To be eligible, start-ups had to be formed after 1 January 2011 outside the 28 EU member states, G8 member states and FP7 associated countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey).
The winners were chosen by the Science|Business Innovation Board from a shortlist drawn up by a jury drawn from academia, policy and intellectual property.
The full list of finalists chosen included founders and leaders of the following organisations (in alphabetical order):
• Winner: Elvis Austins, SpellAfrica Initiative, Nigeria.
• Runner-up: Jonathan Miller, Solar Plus Energy Investments (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
• Runner-up: Neil du Preez, Mellowcabs, South Africa
For more information about the Global Innovation Award, and the full list of selection committee members, visit www.sciencebusiness.net/Events/InnovationConnection.
For further information, contact:
Maryline Fiaschi
Director, Science|Business +32 477 50 40 78
[email protected]
www.sciencebusiness.net
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