Inmed South Africa is one of the 33 finalists selected from 7,761 submissions across 173 countries for the 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize. The Zayed Sustainability Prize’s Jury selected the finalists across six categories: health, food, energy, water, climate action and global high schools.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize’s jury selected the 33 finalists from 7,761 entries received across six categories. Image supplied.
Each winner in the health, food, energy, water, and climate action categories will receive $1m, while each of the six winning global high schools will receive up to $150,000.
2026 finalists
Health finalists
This year’s health finalists are delivering transformative healthcare that expands access to essential services in some of the world’s most underserved communities.
Their innovations span AI diagnostics, solar-powered vaccine refrigeration, and gamified cognitive tools.
- Drop Access, an SME from Kenya, provides solar-powered medical refrigeration via Vaccibox, enabling safe transport and storage of over 2.5 million vaccines, medicines, and blood bags, benefiting over one million people.
- Healthy Learners, an NPO from Zambia, transforms schools into frontline health hubs by training teachers as health workers, enabling real-time disease detection and treatment for over one million children.
- Jade Autism, an SME from the United Arab Emirates, develops AI and gamified cognitive tools to screen and support neurodiverse children, with adoption in over 450 institutions across 179 countries.
Food finalists
This year’s food finalists are pioneering innovations in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and circular food systems.
Their solutions span agritech, crop resilience, and climate-smart production models.
- E Green Global, an SME from South Korea, produces disease-free seed potatoes using microtuber technology in indoor plant factories, benefiting 15 million people and supplying over 10 million seed potatoes annually.
- Inmed South Africa, an NPO from South Africa, implements aquaponics systems that integrate fish farming with hydroponic vegetable production for schools and households, benefiting over 158,000 people.
- N&E Innovations, an SME from Singapore, creates upcycled, biodegradable antimicrobial sprays and packaging that extend food shelf life and reduce waste, upcycling over two tonnes of food waste into 400,000 plus units and reaching 80,000 people across seven countries.
Energy finalists
This year’s energy finalists are advancing inclusive and scalable approaches to sustainable energy, tackling challenges in access and efficiency.
Their solutions span the provision of energy to remote communities, clean cooling and water-based battery recycling.
- Base Foundation, an NPO from Switzerland, promotes a cooling-as-a-service model that makes clean cooling technologies more accessible through a pay-per-use approach, benefiting 160,000 people, creating 2,500 jobs, and abating over 81,000 tonnes of CO₂ across 68 countries.
- GRST, an SME from China (Hong Kong), develops PFAS-free lithium battery binders that enable water-based recycling, producing over 2 million battery cells, creating more than 200 jobs, and reducing battery manufacturing emissions by up to 40%.
- Poder y Luz Maya, an NPO from Guatemala, provides solar power systems and digital learning tools for indigenous schools, benefiting over 49,000 people, reducing energy use by more than 4,700 MWh, and abating over 1,200 tonnes of CO₂.
Water finalists
This year’s water finalists are delivering breakthrough solutions that expand access to clean drinking water, strengthen water infrastructure, and advance intelligent water management.
Their innovations span solar-powered purification systems, plastic pollution prevention, and AI-enabled leak detection.
- Iriba Water Group, an SME from Rwanda, provides solar-powered smart water ATMs with UV and RO purification, mobile payments, and digital monitoring to expand access to safe drinking water, benefiting over 517,000 people through 203 water ATMs and creating 194 jobs.
- Stattus4, an SME from Brazil, develops AI-powered IoT solutions that detect leaks in water distribution networks, saving 540 million litres of water daily across 250 municipalities, improving water availability for nearly four million people.
- The Great Bubble Barrier, an SME from the Netherlands, prevents plastic pollution in rivers using a curtain of air bubbles that guides waste to catchment systems without harming aquatic life, benefiting two million people and removing 180 tonnes of pollutants from waterways.
Climate action finalists
This year’s climate action finalists are leading transformative efforts in climate resilience, disaster preparedness and circular innovation.
Their solutions span eco-bricks, biogas systems and waste-to-value technologies.
- Build Up Nepal, an NPO from Nepal, develops earthquake-resilient eco-bricks that support sustainable construction, benefiting more than 58,000 people, empowering 200 entrepreneurs, and abating over 110,000 tonnes of CO₂.
- Clic Recycle, an SME from Spain, converts human hair waste into biodegradable mulch and marine filters, engaging over 7,000 users, removing 180 tonnes of pollutants, and improving soil water retention by up to 40%.
- Gree Energy, an SME from China (Hong Kong), creates modular biogas systems for rural food processors, benefiting 4,000 farmers, generating 9.3 GWh of clean energy, and abating 140,000 tonnes of CO₂.
Global high schools’ finalists
The global high schools’ finalists presented project-based, student-led sustainability solutions, with finalists divided into six regions.
The regional finalists include:
- The Americas: Centro de Ensino Médio 111 - Recanto das Emas (Brazil); Escuela Secundaria Técnica 117 Guillermo González Camarena (Mexico); and Mamawi Atosketan Native School (Canada).
- Sub-Saharan Africa: Likuni Boys Secondary School (Malawi); Kallamino Special High School (Ethiopia); and Kyanja High School, Mpigi (Uganda).
- Middle East and North Africa: Fawakhir School for Applied Technology (Egypt); Al-Raja School for the Hearing Impaired (Jordan); and Rashaya High School (Lebanon).
- Europe and Central Asia: Bodrum Anadolu High School (Türkiye); Specialized School in Angor (Uzbekistan); and Istedad Lyceum (Azerbaijan).
- South Asia: Qadir Nagar High School (Pakistan); Faafu Atoll Education Center (Maldives); and Kikani Vidhya Mandir (India).
- East Asia and Pacific: Camarines Norte Senior High School (The Philippines); True North International School (Vietnam); and Ruamrudee International School (Thailand).
The winners will be revealed at the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony on 13 January 2026, held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.
