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The Regional Innovation Challenge (RIC) is a competition organized as part of the “Transformation of the Waste sector towards Energy Nexus in the Southwest Indian Ocean region (TWENex)” project by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) consortium.

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The overall objective of this action is an inclusive R&I environment enabling the transformation towards a sustainable management of the waste value chain and production of energy from waste in the western Indian Ocean islands.

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The RIC was open to any individual, small and medium-sized enterprises, associations, research organizations, universities, private sector, group or non-governmental organization from Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles.

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The RIC was launched on the 12th of December 2024. Following the deadline for the submission of ideas on the 21st of February 2025, 86 applications were received whereby 47 were Madagascar, 27 were from Mauritius, 11 from Comoros and 1 from Seychelles.

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The first auditions in Mauritius (4-5 March), Madagascar (11-12 March), and Comoros (24-25 March) were conducted during the month of March 2025. Each country’s auditions had a local panel of jury members. The outcome of the auditions was the selection of 5 finalists in each country. The selection was made, taking into consideration the innovativeness, practicality, relevance, scalability, potential impact, and commercial potential of project.

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Each finalist was awarded a seed money of 400 euro, for the Idea Acceleration Phase. During this phase, they further consolidated their ideas and came up with a realizable plan/prototype or concept. This stage was completed in May 2025 and the 5 finalists of each country made a final pitch to the jury of the competition. Following this, a Country winner was selected.

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The RIC was showcased into a regional 27-episodes television programme with the support of MBC, TVM and ORTC.

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The final auditions were held in Mauritius for the selection of the Grand winner. The award ceremony was held on the 4th of June 2025.

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Country winners

• Madagascar:
  Valorisation des résidus de distillation comme combustible pour la production d’huile essentielle de girofle par l’équipe de Ravaka Randria-morasata

• Comoros:
  Conception et Fabrication de Réchauds à Biomasse déchets avec Système de Dégradation Thermique et Séchoir Hybride, Adaptés aux Besoins des Ménages Comoriens par l’équipe de Said Hassani Naimati

• Mauritius:
  Using indigenous microorganisms (IMOs) as a promising Climate Smart Agricultural approach to sustainable livestock waste management par l’équipe d’Avinash Keesoony (FAREI)​

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Grand winner

• Madagascar:
  Valorisation des résidus de distillation comme combustible pour la production d’huile essentielle de girofle par l’équipe de Ravaka Randria-morasata