Innovation Awards

Discover the finalists of the MENA Housing Forum Innovation Award

Rewarding the most impactful initiatives

Within the framework of the MENA Housing Forum, the Innovation Awards competition seeks to promote and celebrate innovative approaches to improve housing conditions for low-income households at scale.

The Awards further seek to demonstrate the importance of strategic collaboration, specifically multi-sectoral People-Public-Private-Partnerships that foster innovations.

With the support of our sponsor, the Hilti Foundation, the focus of the Awards will be on rewarding initiatives that address real needs and provide affordable, disaster-resilient, inclusive, and sustainable housing solutions across the MENA region.

Rewarding different types of innovation

Three categories for the Innovation Awards

Applicants to the Awards may apply to any one of the three categories described below, depending on the characteristics of their initiative.

Public policies

This category focuses on policies across all government level that help to reduce housing deficit while taking into considerations the specific needs of minorities, vulnerable and marginalized populations.

Applicants should showcase ground-breaking innovations in housing policy that create a more enabling environment for affordable housing and provide best practices to inspire housing policy around the world.

Best practices

This category focuses on practices by civil society, public private partnerships, or private entities/actors that help to improve communities and settlements, and increase access to affordable housing for the disadvantaged segments of society.

Applications should showcase advances in adequate and affordable housing solutions along the housing continuum with the potential for scale-up, to result in a material reduction in the housing deficit and improved living conditions of low-income households.

ShelterTech

This category focuses on technological innovations (product & services) from the private sector that provide practical solutions to affordable and/or sustainable, resilient housing challenges, and can be commercially scaled and replicated to increase impact on low-income households and communities.

Applications should showcase housing design and construction innovations led by the private sector where new housing technologies improve the development of affordable, sustainable, and/or resilient housing at scale.

Apply now
(English)
Apply now
(Arabic)

What you need to know

Competition details

Application rules

All applications must be submitted filling the form which will be made available soon.
No forms will be received by other means, either by mail or in person.
Applications must be presented in either English or Arabic;
By signing up for the Contest, the applicant accepts to receive information regarding the MENA Housing Forum.
Each applicant can only submit 1 application per category. It is not allowed for the same applicant to submit more than 1 application to the same category.
It is possible to submit applications to more than 1 category. However, in this case each application must have its own individual information form.
The MENA Housing Innovation Awards are open to social and territorial organizations, municipalities, national and sub-national governments, public actors (agencies, companies, organizations, networks, associations, partnerships or bodies), foundations and corporations, consulting firms, private companies, partnerships, academia, research centers, multilateral organizations, civil society representatives, as well as any other interested organizations or individuals.
It is understood that, by filling out the application form on the platform, the applicants accept in full the terms of commitment and contest rules of this public invitation.
Final results will be unappealable.
In case of false identity or report of plagiarism of any information in the registration process or in the registered projects and works, the project will be immediately disqualified.
The organizers are relieved of any legal responsibility regarding authorial violation of content submitted by applicants.

Prize package

The finalists

Finalists (4 from each category) will be selected by a panel of expert judges, and will be invited to present their initiatives to the live audience at the MENA Housing Forum, taking place between November 21 and 23, with paid travel and accommodation costs.
Finalists will benefit from networking with peers and experts during the event.
Finalists will be featured on the MHF website, MHF newsletters;

3 winners

In addition to the above benefits for all finalists, 3 winners (1 from each category) will get:

A cash prize of US$ 5,000 each
Winners will be featured on the Habitat for Humanity EME (Europe and Middle East) website, Habitat for Humanity EME newsletters and social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
A featured video showcasing the winner’s work (based on images and footage submitted by the winner, mixed with a filmed interview at the awards ceremony) will be featured on the MHF website and the Habitat for Humanity EME website.

Any questions?

Any questions or concerns regarding this public notice may be clarified via email at menahousingforum@habitat.org

The contest organizers will answer the questions as soon as possible.

In need of inspiration?

Check out Innovation Awards finalists and winners from previous Habitat for Humanity housing forums:

Be the first to know about future events and contribute to the future of housing in the region.

Get email updates from Habitat for Humanity