FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Welcome to our FAQ section. Here, you’ll find answers to the most common questions about the Africa International Design Awards — including eligibility, submission guidelines, evaluation criteria, deadlines, and more.
If you don’t find the information you’re looking for, feel free to contact our team directly and download our Entry Guide 2026. We’re here to help!

Entry Process and Requirements

For professional submissions as a company or independent designer, please provide the following information when submitting your project:

  • Company Name (required for Company)
  • Lead Designer (required)
  • Names of Other Designers (optional)
  • List of other contributors based on the category applied for, from the Architectural firm to the Manufacturer.
  • Category or Categories (required)
  • Design Status – Concept, Prototype, or Commercialised (required)
  • Brief Description of the Product (required)
  • Design Composition & Specifications (optional)
  • Upload Images (required) and/or PDF Documents (optional)
  • Links to Design or Product (videos, online content, website, etc.) (optional)

For Emerging Designer submissions, please provide the following information when submitting your project:

  • Name of the University or Design school (required)
  • Lead Designer (required)
  • Professor name(s) (required)
  • Names of Other Designers (optional)
  • List of other contributors based on the category applied for
  • Category or Categories (required)
  • Design Status – Concept or Prototype (required)
  • Brief Description of the Product (required)
  • Design Composition & Specifications (optional)
  • Upload Images (required) and/or PDF Documents (optional)
  • Links to Design or Product (videos, online content, website, etc.) (optional)

The registration process is straightforward. Once you’ve created your profile, you’ll be able to submit your projects directly through your account. Make sure to save your login and password for future access and updates.

  1. Register online and complete your profile information
  2. Complete the online application, select your project and category.
  3. Fill in the required information: Description, upload your images, weblink, and PDF document
  4. Review your application
  5.  Pay and receive your invoice

Anyone who is a student of any kind can enter work under the student category and get the reduced submission fee, regardless of whether you are a full-time or part-time student, or what you are studying. Please keep in mind that if you submit in the student category, your work will be evaluated among other students.

ENTRY FEES 2026

To ensure access and representation across the continent and the diaspora, we offer regionally adapted pricing. Africa-based applicants benefit from a reduced fee structure to reflect local economies and support emerging voices. Diaspora and international participants are invited to contribute through a standard fee, which helps fund outreach and the awards ceremony.

ENTRY FEES 2026 – APPLICATIONS FROM AFRICAN COUNTRIES

The AIDA Awards entry fees are calculated per project submitted and are determined based on the country associated with your billing information or company location.

  • Professional/ Company: US$100, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.
  • Independent Designer / Freelancers: US$40, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.
  • Student: US$10, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.

ENTRY FEES 2026 – INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS

The AIDA Awards entry fees are calculated per project submitted and are determined based on the country associated with your billing information or company location.

  • Professional/ Company: US$200, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.
  • Independent Designer / Freelancers: US$80, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.
  • Student: US$20, same entry in additional categories at a 50% discount.

Submission fees are exclusive of VAT, unless the company is based in Switzerland. VAT, when applicable, has to be declared locally.

No Further Fees: Unlike some other design awards and competitions, there are no further fees for winning the award: Everything listed in the winner’s benefits will be provided free of charge.

DEADLINES & DISCOUNT – AIDA AWARDS 2026

  • 20% Early Bird discount until October 31st, 2025
  • 10% Extended Early Bird discount until November 30th, 2025
  • Regular Deadline until February 15th, 2026
  • Final Deadline: March 15th, 2026 (10% late fee applies) till March 31st, 2026
  • The Program will close on March 31st, 2026

The Africa International Design Awards are open to anyone aged 18 and above, regardless of their country of residence. Applicants living outside of Africa should either be of African origin or submit projects that have been developed or realised in Africa. All submissions must demonstrate a clear and meaningful connection to the continent.

Submission fees are the last step in the processing of your application. Please create your entry and make sure it is finalised before submitting your payment.

Yes — as long as your project demonstrates a clear connection to Africa, you are welcome to apply.
This connection can take many forms, such as:

  • The project being developed, produced, or implemented in Africa
  • The use of African materials, craft techniques, or cultural references
  • A collaboration with African designers, artisans, or communities

The AIDA Awards are open to all who contribute meaningfully to Africa’s design landscape.

You can load up to images with each application, the picture can be a JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg) or PNG (.png) format. One image is for the cover photo to identify the entry and the remaining 9 are supporting images. Images must not exceed 4MB per file and must be a minimum of 1000 pixels wide. Please only use letters and numbers in the title of the image.
If your entry has a product specification, you have the option to upload one PDF file in A4 or letter-sized format. The PDF must not exceed 4MB.

You will not be able to edit your submission details after the payment has been made. For this reason, please review your work carefully and make sure that the entries are submitted correctly before finalizing the payment. For any assistance after paying, please contact our support team: support@africainternationaldesignawards.com

You should receive a confirmation email from us shortly after you submit and pay for your work. If you do not receive an email, please verify that your email is correct in our records by logging into the member’s “Home” section and selecting “Profile” which leads to “Edit Profile”.

In addition, if you are using spam-blocking software, please add “africainternationaldesignawards.com” to your list of approved recipients. If, after doing both of these things, you do not receive an email, please log into the member’s “Home” section and click on “History” to view your submission status and make sure that all your entries have been paid for.

You may check on your entry status at any time by logging into the member’s “Home” section with your username and password, and clicking on “History”.

NOTE: If a submission is incomplete when the window for submissions has closed (i.e. the submission fee has not been paid, or the images have not been uploaded correctly), the submission will not be eligible for juried consideration. Though we make every effort to make contact and to ensure the completion of submissions, we are not responsible for incomplete entries and are unable to offer a refund should an entry be incomplete once the submissions window is closed.

Yes, you may submit work that has been submitted or that has won an award in a previous competition. We believe that great design/ product lives & evolves. Great Designs are timeless!

Categories and Submission

You may enter the same product design into as many categories as you see fit. In fact, doing so may increase your chances of winning. However, there is an additional fee for each additional category you enter.

No, you may submit as many entries as you wish, and if you submit multiple entries at the same time.

The jury will select the winners in each category based on individual designs and products, not on an entire body of work/collection of work, so each design or project should be submitted as a separate entry.

We accept commercialized/Built, in-progress, prototype, and conceptual projects.

No, the AIDA Awards welcomes creative thinkers to participate. You don’t have to be a designer, Manufacturer, or Distributor to submit your project. Creative and innovative thinkers can also submit designs and projects for consideration.

You are not required to submit your drawings or 3D visualization However, we encourage participants to submit as much information as possible for a better representation of your project. We understand that every project design is unique, therefore, you have the freedom to submit any information that you think is suitable.

Yes, the only restriction is that the design has been produced no more than 5 years old, to keep all designs Fresh and Innovative.

Use of Images

First, check that the image does not exceed the maximum size of 4MB, that it is in the right format which is either JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg) or PNG (.png), and that the file name contains only letters or numbers and no other characters. Once you’ve checked all these criteria are in order, try to upload your images again. If you’re still having trouble after this, contact our support team at support@africainternationaldesignawards.com.

Your images will only be used to promote your Project / Product Design and the Africa International Design Awards. Through our global reach, your image will be viewed with your credit all around the world. All participating designers thus far have been extremely happy with how their images have been used and promoted globally.

Copyright and all other rights remain with the designer, company, or brand. Any images used by AIDA Awards shall carry the designer’s credit line. AIDA Awards may use images in any media sponsor publication. All entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition may be used by AIDA Awards for marketing and promotional purposes, including in any medium such as exhibitions, print, and digital media directly related to the AIDA Awards competition, though there may not be monetary compensation.

Neither AIDA Awards, affiliates, nor partners assume any responsibility for materials submitted in violation of the competition rules or for those which violate copyright regulations. AIDA Awards will investigate claims of copyright infringement to the best of its ability and will remove and disqualify submissions that are clearly demonstrated to violate copyright and/or competition policies. AIDA Awards will act to maintain the integrity of the competition and its affiliated entities, but is not responsible for any damages resulting from images submitted in violation of rules and regulations. For additional questions, please refer to the AIDA Awards Terms and Conditions.

There is no monetary remuneration for the use of your image. Please make sure you have the full copyright before entering any images, drawings and concepts.

Payment

You will not be able to edit your submission details after the payment has been made. For this reason, please review your work carefully and make sure that the entries are submitted correctly before finalizing the payment. For any assistance after paying, please contact our support team: support@africadesignawards.com

Once a submission fee has been paid, there are no refunds provided. If you have been wrongly charged for any reason, we will be happy to credit the amount that is due.

You can pay for your submission online via PayPal, credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Union Pay, JCB) and digital Wallets ( Ali Pay).

We are actively working to support payment methods accessible to users across the African continent.

The submission cost are in US$, however, you can pay in all currency accepted by stripe & Paypal.

Judging

All jury members are selected for their design expertise, professional leadership, and deep understanding of Africa’s diverse cultural landscape.

For a complete list of the jury members, please visit the jury page.

The AIDA Awards follow a multi-step judging process to ensure fairness, rigour, and expert evaluation across all disciplines.

In the first stage, jury members review and rate all submitted projects online using a dedicated scorecard. Each juror evaluates entries based on their expertise and experience within their specific field of design. The Africa International Design Awards scores projects between 10-100 points.

Once the initial scores have been tallied, jury members participate in group discussions to review the highest-scoring entries in each category. These collaborative sessions allow for the exchange of ideas, critical debate, and collective insight. Final deliberations determine the winners in the Professional, Independent Designer, and Emerging Designer categories.

Due to the high volume of submissions, our judges are unable to provide individual feedback on every project. However, if a judge includes specific comments on a project’s scorecard, we will be happy to share those insights with the applicant.

Winners and Honorable Mention

We do notify award winners by email, but it does sometimes happen that notifications get caught in server filters so it’s possible that you may not receive the email notification. Fortunately, you can always check to see if you’ve won any awards by logging into the “history” section and clicking on “Winning design”.

To access your winning assets, go to the “History” menu tab on your  AIDA Awards Account and click on “Winning Entries”, where you’ll find a printable Winner Certificate and the official Winner badge to be used online, on social media, and in any other promotional materials.