The connected summit innovation awards was a pre-summit event that began with a call for innovations that was done on social media from the 7th to the 18th of March. A total of 57 innovations in 10 selected categories were submitted.
First level evaluation exercise was done on the 21st of March, headed by the innovations department at ICT Authority and selected committee members. The outcome of the exercise was 31 innovators were selected for the second evaluation.  The second evaluation exercise was done on the 28th and 29th March, with external partners.

7 innovators were selected as winners to exhibit at the summit and they included;

1. Naiparq-Emerging Trends
2. Majik Water Technologies-Green Technology
3. Agricultural Finance Corporation-    Government Institution utilizing ICT for service delivery
4. Smart Applications International-Universal Healthcare
5. Giftchain Africa Limited-Fintech
6. Creative Based Center and Store Limited (CBC Store)-Education
7. Kuza Coolers Limited- Food Security

The innovators who were sponsored by Oracle attended the event in Diani and exhibited their solution at the oracle booth. They were also rewarded with trophies on Thursday 14th April, by the guests at the event.

Three innovators were also selected to pitch their ideas to a group of selected judges.