Who can apply
- Individuals with proven high-impact education work in Africa
- Institutions with proven high-impact education programmes, research or initiatives in Africa
- Candidates nominated by competent regional or international institutions
- Candidates nominated by universities, research institutes or scientific centres
- Candidates nominated by United Nations organisations
- Candidates nominated by former winners in the Education field or former evaluation members
Focus areas
- Access to basic education
- Vocational education and training
- Higher education
- Literacy
- Reducing socioeconomic barriers to education
- Artificial Intelligence in education
- Innovative learning approaches
- Reducing school dropout
- Reintegration of out-of-school children
- Quality education in rural communities
- Education in underserved communities
- African education and human development
Requirements
- The nominee’s work must be innovative and have achieved high impact in Africa
- The work must contribute significantly to economic, social or human-resource development
- The nomination must relate to Education, the designated field for the 2026 cycle
- Research-based nominations should demonstrate recognised studies and applied research supported by peer-reviewed publications where applicable
- Research outcomes should have been applied in African countries within the past ten years where relevant
- Adequate evidence of achievements and impact must be provided
- The nomination must be submitted by an eligible nominating institution or authorised nominator
- All submissions must be in English
- Work originally produced in another language must include a comprehensive English summary
Application steps
- Identify an individual or institution with substantial proven impact on education in Africa.
- Confirm that the nominee’s achievements meet the 2026 Education criteria.
- Secure nomination through an eligible regional, international, academic, research, UN or other authorised nominating body.
- Gather strong evidence demonstrating the nominee’s innovation, scale, results and lasting impact in Africa.
- Register on the official KFAS prize platform and complete the nomination form in English.
- Submit the complete nomination by 31 August 2026.
This is not an ordinary grant for a proposed education project. The US$1 million prize recognises individuals or institutions whose work has already achieved substantial and demonstrable impact in Africa. Organisations should therefore not approach it as a request for funding to start a new programme. The strongest nominees will have mature, well-documented education initiatives with evidence of scale, innovation, measurable outcomes and lasting influence. Previous education laureates include organisations such as CAMFED, Ubongo Learning, the Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy and the Forum for African Women Educationalists, illustrating the level of demonstrated impact expected. A major practical requirement is nomination. An interested NGO or individual should first identify an eligible institution or authorised person willing to nominate them and assemble strong independent evidence supporting the achievements claimed.