On July 24-25, the African Regional finals of the China International College Students' Innovation Competition (2025), co-organized by Nanjing Agricultural University, Egerton University, Kabarak University, and other institutions, took place in Nairobi, Kenya.

The African Regional contest received a total of 185 submissions from 115 higher education institutes across Africa and 30 projects made into the final. After on-site evaluations by experts, five projects, including "C-SMART: A Smart Multi-Resource Planning Technology for Urban Sustainability" from Stellenbosch University (South Africa), were awarded gold medals. Eleven projects, including "ResQnode" from Kabarak University, received silver medals, while 14 projects, including "Hunan Tea-Porcelain Mystery–MoBoxTea Launches into Moroccan Tea Market" from Hassan II University of Casablanca (Morocco), earned bronze medals.

"These innovative achievements highlight the profound talent pool in African universities and their strong desire to tackle challenges," praised Roselida Owuor, director-general of Kenya's State Department for Science, Research, and Innovation. She commended the competition as a vital platform for showcasing the ingenuity of African youth and addressing the continent's pressing issues.

"Hosting this competition is a vivid demonstration of the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation," said Zhu Yan, Vice President of Nanjing Agricultural University. "Leveraging the role of the world's first agriculture-focused Confucius Institute as a bridge, Nanjing Agricultural University will collaborate with African universities to foster youth innovation, promote practical technologies, and encourage students to delve deeper into entrepreneurship."

Since its launch in 2015, the China International College Students' Innovation Competition has grown into the world's largest innovation competition in terms of participation. This year marks the first time the competition has included an African division contest, aiming to integrate more young talent from countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

As Maurice Simiyu, leader of a gold-winning team, expressed: "We are deeply grateful for this competition, which has built a cross-border and cross-cultural bridge for innovation. Through mutual learning with peers from different countries, we have strengthened friendships and broadened our horizons. This experience has shown us the immense potential of youth innovation in our own countries and across Africa. In the future, we will actively seek ways to turn innovative ideas into action, contributing our youthful energy to Africa's development and Sino-African cooperation."

African talent finds global stage at China's student innovation competition_inJiangsu