LEADERBOARD (Current Top 10)

1	A Sustainable Source Of Income For Women Living With HIV/AIDS And Orphans In Nanyuki- Poultry Keeping Project
2	Life. Opportunity. Hope.
3	Plastic Water Bottles For Rural Household Water Tanks
4	Automated, Robotic, Precise, Innovative Agricultural Techniques To Combat Environmental, Locale Specific Issues Resulting In Amelioration Of The Emancipated Condition Of The Local Populace Of Africa.
5	A Bicycle Mobile Phone Charger For A Green Energy And Rural Development In Africa
6	Milk Preservation And Storage In Ethiopia And Rural Kenya
7	Rabbit Farming Project Diversification: Developing A Rabbit Abbatoir And Fruit Farm
8	Brain Gain, Not Brain Drain; Empowering Indigenous Innovation And Leadership
9	Microcredit For Underprivileged Women Farmers And Small Entrepreneurs
10	The Butterfly Project, Uganda

Contest Details

What is this?

We want to hear what you have to say. At Africa Rural Connect, we believe that collaboration is the key to developing the best ideas for Africa. Add your experience and expertise to the insights of thousands of professionals, experts, and likeminded individuals and organizations the world. Together we can build and enhance project plans that could have a real-world impact in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How do I get involved in idea generation?

Post your idea. ARC is an interactive network; you can participate in a number of ways. If you have an idea for a project plan in rural Africa- post it! Members of the ARC community will support your plan by offering their expertise, pledging resources, and adding visibility of your project through endorsements.

You can do your part to help develop other plans as well, putting your skills to use in a variety of projects across the continent. Offer your challenges or solutions, small or large, creative or practical, and see what happens.

Get your friends and colleagues to join the ARC Community to support your idea and make it even better. The support of ARC community members could help you win a prize!

Keep checking the Leader Board above to find out what plans are getting the most attention from the Community.

What if I don't have an idea – but I like some of the others?

Anyone with a profile on the ARC community website can rate a post by clicking “Endorse this Idea,” if he/she thinks that the proposal merits it. Get your friends and colleagues to join the ARC Community to endorse your favorite idea and make it even better so that it wins a Round! Keep checking the Leader Board above to find out what plans are getting the most attention from the Community.

How does the contest work?

The new contest will be announced in early 2012. Stay tuned for more announcements.

The ideas that garner the most collaboration and engagement with the ARC community will likely grow into the strongest plans- potentially winning prize money and receiving international exposure. So get involved and spread the word to the people you know who care about rural Africa!

Selection Criteria

The Panel of Judges will evaluate the posts, ideas and proposed plans, identifying those that in their opinion are the most original, creative, practical, scalable and likely to succeed, with special attention given to those which appear to offer the greatest improvements in the lives of a population of small-scale farmers, mostly women, and others in the rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa. Accordingly, we suggest that ARC participants develop ideas under on or more of the following themes: Water Resources, Agribusiness, Post-harvest Losses/Storage, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Communication Methods with the rural African farmer.

Official Contest Rules

Badges

The most active community members will receive badges on their ideas to mark their contributions to the ARC community.

Power Creator- This badge will appear under your username on your idea if you add more than 10 ideas.
Power Collaborator- This badge will appear under your username on your idea if you remix more than 10 ideas.
Round Winner- This badge will appear on your idea if it is one of the top 10 ideas at the end of a round.
Prize Winner- This badge will appear on your idea if it is one of the two prize-winning ideas at the end of a round.

Prizes

The 2012 Contest will begin soon. Post your ideas on the website now to start collecting feedback and support.

Judges

Wilber James, Managing General Partner, Rockport Capital
Mr. James currently manages Rockport Capital, a leading venture capital firm. He is also the director and former acting chairman of the African Wildlife Foundation, co-founder and director of Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Regenerative Medicine Innovation Fund, and co-founder and member of the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya.

Mariéme Jamme, CEO, SpotOne Global Solutions
Ms. Jamme is a Senegalese philanthropist and social entrepreneur based in London. She is the Team Leader of Dakar Dragons, an organization dedicated to empowering African women. Many of her other projects: such as iConscience and Africa Gathering, reflect her dedication to help develop Africa's private sector and technology community.

Bruce McNamer, President and CEO, TechnoServe
Mr. McNamer manages TechnoServe, a nonprofit business organization that provides business- and market-based solutions to alleviate poverty in developing countries. He also has worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mr. McNamer was a White House Fellow and a Director at the National Economic Council from 1998-1999, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay.