A Cameroon-based AI startup that turns plastic, agricultural and electronic waste into engineered polymers and 3D-printing filaments has taken the $1 million top prize at the 2026 Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize. BleagLee was announced as the Grand Prize winner of the Prize in Artificial Intelligence and Manufacturing on 7 May 2026 at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles.
Tanzania’s Freshpack Technologies, which deploys AI-powered cold storage to cut post-harvest food losses, took the $250,000 runner-up prize. UK-based Digitech Oasis Limited received a separate $100,000 award for the Most Advanced Use of 4IR category. Five finalists and 10 semi-finalists shared a further $750,000 in interim awards across the prize cycle.
BleagLee’s technology
BleagLee uses proprietary AI software to detect and route waste in Cameroonian communities, converting plastic, agricultural and e-waste into engineered recycled polymers, 3D-printing filaments and bio-based carbon materials. The company says it is targeting a 300 million-tonne reduction in CO2-equivalent emissions by 2030, combining AI-driven waste sorting with downstream manufacturing for the recycled-materials market.
“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 chief executive of the Motsepe Foundation. “When we invest in innovation that is both locally grounded and globally minded, the returns are limitless.”
The prize and what comes next
The Milken-Motsepe Innovation Prize Program has been running since 2021 and has awarded over $8 million to more than 50 innovators worldwide, with participating teams collectively raising close to 31 times the Grand Prize value in additional outside investment. The 2026 AI and Manufacturing edition drew more than 2,000 applications from 100 countries. Tech.africa covered the strategic rationale behind the prize series in an April report showing that the organisers see AI as a foundational input for African manufacturing competitiveness.
The next edition, announced alongside the AI and Manufacturing winners, will focus on the circular economy and put up another $2 million in total prizes, including a $1 million Grand Prize. Registration is open until 14:00 Eastern on 13 August 2026, and the programme seeks technology-enabled solutions that move African industries away from linear take-make-waste systems toward regenerative, resource-efficient value chains.
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