Announcement: Grand Prize $20,000 Winner!

We would like to thank everyone who took part in Africa Rural Connect this year, browsing and posting ideas, leaving comments and taking part in discussions, as well as endorsing the ideas you support. There have been over 600 posts in less than 4 months and over 10,000 participants.

We are proud to announce that "The Ndekero Challenge: A Systems Approach for Rabbit Keeping by a Rural Community in Partnership with a Commercial Rabbit Farm" is the Grand Prize winning idea of the Africa Rural Connect 2009 Contest.

This idea will be awarded $20,000 towards implementation of the Kenya-based project. Our four judges selected this plan out of the hundreds posted on the site based on feasibility, sustainability, and local impact among other key criterion. Congratulations to Jacky Foo and all the ARC members who took part in the debates and discussions that added insight to this idea.

Also, we would like to invite all ARC members to attend Africa Gathering in Nairobi, Kenya from December 21st – 22nd 2009 which the Grand Prize winner will be attending with ARC Manager, Molly Mattessich, and ARC Web Consultant, Ernesto Gluecksmann, from Infamia. Africa Gathering is a conference which, much like ARC, provides a space where thinkers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and others interested in sustainable development in Africa can come together to share and learn about each others' projects and efforts. To learn more and find a list of speakers here. We encourage those of you who are available to attend the conference and join the discussions. Tickets can be purchased here. For those who can not attend, you can follow us on Twitter @IdeasforAfrica to stay informed of the Conference, as it happens.