The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy is offering $2 million in total prizes to scalable, technology-enabled companies operating in Africa. A $1 million grand prize is reserved for the winning team, with $250,000 set aside for the runner-up. The call is open to firms that already reduce waste, keep materials in circulation, and deliver measurable environmental and social impact through resource-efficient value chains.

Run by the Milken-Motsepe Prize partnership, the competition follows a three-round funnel built to filter for commercial maturity. Each round gates the next, with business models and operational documentation required before any pitch is heard.

How does the prize structure work?

The competition runs in three sequenced rounds. In Round 1, teams submit business models and operational documentation. Ten semifinalist teams each receive $50,000. In Round 2, semifinalists pitch to a panel of industry leaders and judges; five finalists each take an additional $50,000. In Round 3, finalists submit materials for the grand prize round, which awards $1 million to the winner and $250,000 to the runner-up.

The cascading prize structure — $50,000 at semifinal, another $50,000 at finalist, then $1 million or $250,000 at the top — delivers operating capital at every checkpoint, not only at the finish line. Three payments, three milestones, three opportunities to drop out or advance.

What scale of operator qualifies?

The eligibility rules draw a sharp line around commercial maturity:

• More than two years of continuous operation
• Over $500,000 in combined revenue and raised capital
• Institutional, corporate, or public-sector partnerships in place
• Solutions already deployed on the African continent
• Documented evidence of social impact and job creation
• Operational readiness to deploy $1 million or more in prize funding

The two-year operating requirement and the $500,000 revenue-and-capital floor point to operators already in market, with deployment evidence rather than prototype-stage proof. Applicants must already be running their chosen material stream on the African continent, with partnership documentation on file at submission.

Which material streams count?

Applicants must select a focus area at submission and report category-specific metrics. Eligible streams include:

• Agriculture and food systems
• Plastics and packaging
• Electronics
• Textiles
• Construction and the built environment

The five-stream scope — from e-waste to the built environment — captures operators across the recovery hierarchy, from packaging through construction-material reuse. Category-specific metrics at submission will let judges benchmark companies within their own stream, not against unrelated waste-handling sectors.

What sits behind the purse?

The prize pairs $2 million in cash with networking access and direct pitch opportunities to industry leaders and key decision-makers. Semifinalists and finalists gain access to that curated network alongside the cash awards.

The organizers anchor the opportunity in three macro figures. Waste management costs the world $361 billion annually, the prize organizers state, while circular-economy investment could create up to 11 million jobs across Africa. Switching to closed-loop business models could reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the continent by up to 30%, they add.

What milestone decides the field next?

The application deadline is the next gate. Full entry details, judging criteria, and submission requirements sit on the prize website at milkenmotsepeprize.org/circular-economy.