AgriProtein, a Cape Town-based company that farms fly larvae and turns them into animal feed, beat out 900 other applicants from 45 countries to win the $100,000 Innovation Prize for Africa for 2013.

The prize encourages innovative achievements that contribute toward developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving costs in Africa, according to a report in Engineering News. The prize is a joint initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Innovation Foundation.

Agriprotein collects biodegradable waste and feeds it to flies that, in turn, produce larvae that are ground into protein to provide a more ecologically friendly, naturally occurring type of animal feed, according to the report. This approach improves the nutritional value of meat and lowers the cost of animal feed for African processors and farmers.

Prize runners-up won $25,000 each for inventing a bladeless wind converter and a thermal-powered machine that husks fonia, a West African cereal, really fast.

Read more at Engineering News.