The Wilderness Impact Challenge 2025 has attracted bold, forward-thinking ideas from across the globe, all aimed at advancing wildlife conservation in Africa. Launched in December 2024, the initiative has sought innovative solutions to address human-wildlife conflict, encouraging creative approaches that promote coexistence and drive lasting change. With a USD 100,000 prize dedicated to bringing the winning idea to life, the competition received more than 140 submissions.
After careful evaluation, the Trust has now selected the Top 4 finalists, each offering groundbreaking potential to reshape conservation efforts on the continent. They are: Wild Entrust, Terrasense, Ele-Collection Enterprises, and Xeroth AI. Each finalist has presented forward-thinking solutions to human-wildlife conflict, offering transformative approaches with the potential for lasting impact. Learn more about their proposed solutions here.
“We are truly amazed at the overwhelming interest in this inaugural Impact Challenge – not just in the number of entries received but also in the incredibly positive feedback from projects on the ground. It’s inspiring to see how much this opportunity is appreciated, particularly for funding less traditional impact objectives. With so little finance available to explore and test new solutions, we’re excited to see such a wealth of innovative ideas and fresh concepts coming forward”, noted Wilderness Group Head of Impact, Vince Shacks.
From a deterrent system that creates scent-based invisible barriers to prevent predators from entering livestock areas, to battery-free tracking tags that enable long-term, low-maintenance wildlife monitoring, the pool for selection was filled with inspiring and innovative ideas. The level of the entries was extremely high and the competition fierce.
“What stood out to me is the significant progress already made on certain concepts and technologies that have yet to be implemented in the field. This highlights that innovation is not the challenge – rather, it’s the lack of access to the right kind of funding needed to turn these ideas into action”, added Vince.
With over 140 submissions, the selection process for the Top 4 finalists required careful evaluation. An internal team of Wilderness specialists conducted an initial review, with the shortlisted submissions then assessed using a structured scoring matrix, narrowing the field to 10 contenders. These were presented to the Wilderness Trust board, Basilia Shivute, Derek de la Harpe, Dr John Ledger, Malcolm McCulloch, Olivia Mufute, and chairman Charles Douglas, who applied the same criteria to determine the four finalists through a rigorous judging process.
Click here for more information about the Wilderness Impact Challenge 2025.
