Cameroon startup BleagLee has been named the $1 million Grand Prize winner of the 2026 Milken-Motsepe Prize in Artificial Intelligence and Manufacturing, recognized for using AI to transform waste into high-value recycled products.
The award was announced May 7 at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles by the Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation. The prize honors companies driving scalable AI and manufacturing solutions in Africa with potential for job creation and global impact.
BleagLee’s patented AI platform detects and collects plastic, agricultural, and electronic waste across communities and processes it into engineered recycled polymers, 3D printing filaments, and bio-based carbon materials. The company says its work aims to cut 300 million tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions by 2030 while turning an environmental challenge into economic opportunity.
“Africa is producing world-class AI and technology innovation that is solving problems and creating opportunities on a global scale,” said Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation. “When we invest in innovation that is both locally grounded and globally minded, the returns are limitless.”
Other recipients
- Freshpack Technologies of Tanzania took the $250,000 Runner-Up prize for its AI-driven cold storage system that reduces food waste.
- Digitech Oasis Limited of the UK received $100,000 for the Most Advanced Use of 4IR in manufacturing.
- Five finalists — including Spiro and Toto Safi Limited — each received $30,000, while 10 semi-finalists received $50,000.
All prizes are unrestricted, giving teams flexibility to fund business expansion, pilots, and product development.
From 2,000 applicants to 10 finalists
Launched in May 2025, the competition attracted more than 2,000 entrepreneurs from 100 countries. Ten semi-finalists pitched to investors at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi in December 2025, with five advancing to the final round in Los Angeles.
Since 2021, the Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program has awarded over $8 million to 50+ innovators globally. Teams have gone on to raise nearly 31 times the Grand Prize in outside investment and reached more than one million people.
Next up: Circular Economy Prize
The program also announced its next focus: a $2 million Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy, including a $1 million Grand Prize. The award will target companies using technology to replace linear “take-make-waste” systems with regenerative, resource-efficient supply chains across industries such as food, packaging, electronics, fashion, and construction.
Applicants must have operated for at least two years, generated over $500,000 in revenue, secured capital, and deployed solutions on the African continent with clear social impact and job creation. Applications are open until August 13, 2026, at 2 p.m. ET.
“As we enter our fifth year, the prize has become a powerful engine for accelerating innovators tackling urgent global challenges,” said Emily Musil, PhD, managing director of Environmental and Social Innovation at the Milken Institute.
