FT and World Bank Group Launch 2nd Africa Sustainable Futures Awards

LONDON, 2 June 2025: The Financial Times and the World Bank Group have launched the second edition of the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards, a major annual programme that promotes innovative, long-term solutions to development challenges in Africa.

Africa has one of the fastest-growing regional economies, backed by an abundance of natural resources, and a vibrant and youthful population that is rapidly expanding. Yet much still needs to be done to counter the deep development challenges faced by many communities. It is also important to address the growing impact of climate change, and support job creation, human development, gender diversity, and economic competitiveness.

The Africa Sustainable Futures Awards will again showcase commercially viable initiatives that provide transformative, resilient, and scalable solutions to these issues. It aims to find projects that address not just current needs but also the well-being of future generations. Building on the success of the inaugural programme, which drew over 200 entries, the 2025 edition will prioritise initiatives that move beyond traditional development models by actively creating more and better jobs, fostering commercial excellence, and building resilient local economies.

“Energy, infrastructure, healthcare, agribusiness, manufacturing, and tourism are key areas of focus this year, at a time when it is more important than ever to build self-sustaining models for growth. I very much look forward to evaluating the entries,” said David Pilling, Africa editor of the Financial Times and co-chair of the Africa Sustainable Futures Awards judging panel.

Ed Mountfield, Vice President for Finance, Risk, Economics, and Sustainability at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, which houses the World Bank Group Guarantees Platform, and fellow judging panel co-chair, said: "Creating more and better jobs is central to driving sustainable growth and resilience across Africa. Our aim is to highlight practical and scalable solutions that not only tackle today’s challenges but help build dynamic, inclusive economies for the future. I look forward to recognising the private sector players working to transform industries and empower communities.” 

Entries will be accepted until 15 August 2025 in the following categories:

Entry forms and criteria are available at africasustainablefuturesawards.live.ft.com.

Only initiatives that have been implemented since 2015 and have annual revenues of at least $3 million or investment of at least $5 million will be eligible.

Those criteria are waived for the Innovation Showcase, a special category designed to promote exciting new ideas from Africa’s start-ups that do not yet have adequate funding.

The winner in each category will be announced at a special awards dinner on 22 October 2025, which will conclude the FT’s Africa Summit, a major event in London that will gather African government, business, and finance leaders, together with global investors and industry partners, to discuss how to drive forward the continent’s economic transformation.

Members of the high-level judging panel for the awards will be announced shortly.

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For further information, please contact:

Elizabeth Howton, MIGA: ehowton@worldbankgroup.org

 Mark Staniland, FT: mark.staniland@ft.com

About the Financial Times:           

The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. The FT has a record paying readership of 1.5mn, while the wider FT Group has a global paying audience of 3mn across its portfolio of journalism, products and services.

About the World Bank Group:

The World Bank Group works to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet through a combination of financing, knowledge, and expertise. It consists of the World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). 

Initiated in 2024, the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform consolidates guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group. Housed at MIGA, it provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the World Bank Group’s annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030.  

For more information about the guarantee platform, please visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees.