Ten creatives from across the continent have each secured ZAR42,000 (US$2,900) in cash and a residence period in France after winning the Digital Lab Africa competition.
Initiated by the Embassy of France and French Institute in South Africa (IFAS), and managed by Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, Digital Lab Africa is a springboard and incubation platform for African creatives in digital content.
After receiving over 500 applications from over 30 Sub-Saharan countries, 10 creatives have been selected as winners, chosen for their talent, creativity and ability to motivate their ideas. The winners share ZAR420,000 (US$29,000) in cash prizes, and access to a tailored-made incubation programme to accelerate their project development which includes mentorship by French and African creative industries experts, a residence period in France within a digital cluster, and participation at industry events.
The winners were spread across five categories, with South African Lwazi Msipha, for Ringa Mzansi, and Kenyan Naddya Adhiambo Oluoch-Olunya, for Uzi, winners in the Animation Category.
Web Creation winners were Malian Tiécoura N’Daou, for Cartographie Des Regions Musicales Du Mali, and South Africa’s Xabiso Vili for Re/member your Descendants, while Digital Music winners were Zimbabwe’s Marvin Madyara for Swaggify and South Africa’s Shaka Ramulifho for Sunkambe.
Zimbabwean Komborerai Chapfika and South Africa’s Shmerah Passchier and the Afrocyborg Collective won the Virtual Reality category for Trvlr and The Afrocyborg VR Film Collective respectively, while the Video Game award went to Ghana’s Setriakor Nyomi, for Mancala Plus and South Africans Simone Beneke-Graham, Shannon Bennetts, Rowan Brough and Niall Graham for Precious Cargo.
Furthermore, following a period of public online voting, the DLA Audience Award was awarded to Justus Macharia from Kenya, for his work titled BABA. With 501 votes out of 3,329 in total, Macharia’s prize includes an invitation to one of the DLA industry events in France or in Sub-Saharan Africa.
