With the January 15 launch of the 2026 cycle, the WIPO Global Awards have evolved from a prestigious ceremony into a high-octane strategic engine for SMEs. Since 2022, the program has helped over 30 winners prove that intellectual property is the “invisible infrastructure” that attracts investors and secures global markets. This year’s edition introduces a dedicated Sports category, targeting innovations from performance gear to e-sports. WIPO’s mission remains focused on impact: helping businesses bridge the “valley of death” by transforming protected ideas into tangible commercial success and significant societal value. Marcelo di Pietro Peralta, Director of the WIPO Global Awards, in this interview with Funminiyi Philips, shares more insights
Given the January 15 launch of the 2026 cycle, how has the WIPO Global Awards mission evolved since its inception in 2022?
Since 2022, we have demonstrated how IP concretely supports business growth. With more than 30 companies awarded, we see increasingly mature startups and SMEs seeking recognition for their IP journey, realising that IP matters to investors, partners, and teams. Beyond visibility, the Awards now focus on impact: stronger benefits for finalists, a structured ecosystem partner strategy, and growing investor interest. It is no longer just a ceremony.
For 2026, you’ve introduced a dedicated ‘Sports’ category. Why was this the right time to highlight sports-tech, and what kind of “protected ideas” are you hoping to see in this space?
The category aligns with the World IP Day theme. We expect innovations across sports and e-sports, including equipment and gear, medical and safety technologies, performance-enhancing solutions, smart venues and IoT, accessibility and inclusion, and sports media and fan engagement.
With the total number of award recipients rising to 11, how does this expansion reflect WIPO’s broader strategy to support a more diverse range of economic sectors?
More winners and more categories mean a broader spectrum of role models for startups and SMEs. Since 2022, we have built sector-specific verticals to ensure representation across the economy, not only in sectors like health, where IP is traditionally used early on.
You’ve often said this is ‘far more than an award’. Can you elaborate on how the programme functions as a “strategic journey” for an SME rather than just a one-time recognition?
Through tailored mentorship and expert support. Through access to networks, partners, and opportunities beyond the ceremony. Quotes and success stories are available on our webpage.
The pitch mentions that global competition is no longer about raw materials but ‘protected ideas’. How does the WIPO Global Award help startups from emerging economies realise that IP is their most valuable ‘invisible infrastructure’?
By demonstrating that IP is not an administrative formality but a strategic business tool that attracts customers, partners, and investors, enables international expansion, and allows companies to monetise the investments made in their technology and brand.
What truly differentiates a ‘winner’ from a ‘finalist’? Is it the technical complexity of the invention, or the ability to turn that innovation into tangible societal and economic value?
The latter, indeed, we analyse the IP strategy that makes the business flourish. Not the ingenuity or novelty of the innovation itself. But some of these companies truly use IP to attract investors, to secure deals with manufacturers and distributors. This is what we look at.
Many SMEs struggle with the ‘valley of death’ between a patent and a market-ready product. How does the WIPO mentoring program specifically bridge this gap?
WIPO provides IP Management clinics, including support on presenting IP to investors, and increasing their chances of success in accessing capital. That said, for the WIPO Global Awards competition, only companies with a market-ready product can apply.
You’ve maintained the special mentions for ‘Best Woman Entrepreneur’ and ‘Best Young Entrepreneur’ (under 35). Based on the 2025 data, are you seeing a shift in the demographics of applicants for IP protection globally?
WIPO data shows a persistent but slowly improving gender gap: women represented about 17.7% of inventors in PCT applications in 2023, with over 36% including at least one woman. Progress is visible, particularly in biotech, pharma, and design, but parity remains a long-term challenge.
With 30% of 2025 applications being youth-led, how is WIPO ensuring that young innovators don’t see IP as a bureaucratic hurdle, but as a competitive lever?
By highlighting young innovators as role models and promoting peer-to-peer learning through the Awards community.
Africa accounted for 12% of applications in 2025, a significant figure, yet you describe it as largely underexploited. What are the specific barriers preventing more African innovators from crossing the finish line?
This question goes beyond the scope of the WIPO Global Awards, which focus on recognising and supporting innovative companies rather than assessing systemic barriers in the broader innovation ecosystem; such analysis is best addressed by specialised regional experts.
For an African agritech or foodtech startup, what is the strategic value of having a ‘WIPO Global Award’ seal when seeking international investors or partners?
Winning the WIPO Global Awards places your company on the global stage. Led by WIPO, the UN agency for Innovation and Creativity, the awards bring strong credibility for how your business transforms IP into real commercial value. Since 2022, more than 30 winners from all regions and sectors have joined the Global Awards community, companies that have: saved up to 50% of their IP budget, upgraded their IP portfolios and commercial strategies, gained visibility inside the UN system, accessed new international markets and secured new investors.
Looking back at the winners from Africa in 2024 and 2025, such as Farmer Lifeline Technologies (Kenya) and Yakwetu, how have their trajectories changed since the ceremony in Geneva?
Yakwetu secured new investment deals. Farmer Lifeline Technologies continues large-scale deployment across Africa and has received further international recognition.
The evaluation relies on a sector-based framework. How do you ensure the independent jury balances “local impact” with “global scalability” during their deliberations in May?
The balance is ensured through a deliberately diverse and independent jury, combining global commercialisation expertise with strong regional and sectoral knowledge. During the collective jury meeting in May, these perspectives are explicitly discussed in group deliberations, allowing jurors to exchange perspectives and reach consensus.
With applications opening on January 15, what is the single most important piece of advice you would give to an SME founder who is currently hesitating to apply because they feel their company is ‘too small’?
Most of the companies that have won have less than 10 employees and are still not profitable—do not worry about the size of your startup, focus your application on specific, evidence-based success stories of how your small business uses IP (patents, trademarks, etc.) for growth and positive societal impact, clearly linking IP to revenue, job creation, and addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
If you could fast-forward to the ceremony in July 2026, what would success look like for this edition of the WIPO Global Awards?
Eleven outstanding companies with inspiring leaders demonstrating how IP-enabled growth and internationalisation. The 2025 winners clearly validating the long-term impact of the programme.
Why has IP become a key lever for structuring innovation in Africa, securing local technologies, and preventing value capture?
This question goes beyond the direct prerogative of the WIPO Global Awards. However, more broadly, IP plays a critical role by securing investments in local technologies through clear legal and commercial incentives. By granting time-limited exclusive rights, IP enables innovators to operate with legal certainty, prevent external value capture, and build sustainable competitive advantages around their protected assets.
How have strong IP strategies already enabled the emergence of African champions capable of protecting their innovations, raising capital, and accessing international markets, as illustrated by WIPO Global Awards winners and finalists?
Winners and finalists such as AFNON, Yakwetu, and Farmer Lifeline illustrate this clearly: through exports beyond Africa, new investment, and increased international visibility.
Might you touch on some African trends identified by the WIPO Global Awards in which Africa is delivering solutions with global impact?
Among the African applicants in 2025, we observe a strong concentration of platform-based models structuring entire value chains (particularly in agriculture, health, logistics, and mining), often built around traceability, digital marketplaces, and embedded finance. Many agritech solutions take a systemic approach, integrating climate resilience, carbon measurement, cold chains, and resource management. A significant number of innovators are also developing mobile-first, AI-powered digital infrastructure to expand access to healthcare, education, and markets. Creative industries (fashion) and education stand out as high-value IP sectors, with copyright, licensing, and pedagogical methods treated as core business assets. Notably, many of these initiatives are led by women and young entrepreneurs, frequently anchored in public–private partnerships.
Why does IP now condition access to financing and company valuation in Africa, as investors increasingly integrate patents, trademarks, and designs as decisive criteria of credibility and growth?
Definitely, for an investor, the strategic implications of IP held by a business they are investing in are the following: higher entry barriers for competitors, deep tech validation and proof of unique expertise, global readiness in case IP is filled in key markets, more revenue potential (licensing) and trust and compliance as IP is a sign or regulatory readiness and institutional trust.
Can you discuss the role of IP as a tool for economic empowerment, particularly for women entrepreneurs and young African leaders, across key sectors such as fashion, design, crafts, and audiovisual industries?
I will refer you here for more information.
What are the criteria used to select WIPO Global Awards winners?
Business case and IP portfolio: how your product/service fits in the market and how well your IP protects it. IP commercialisation strategy: how you use your IP rights to commercialise your work at the regional/international level. IP culture within the company: how much your team and company value and use IP in everyday work. Impact for a better society: how your work aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and contributes to economic, social, cultural and environmental development.
