As the world’s brightest creative minds gathered on the French Riviera for Cannes Lions, the conversations extended far beyond advertising. They centred on the ideas shaping industries, improving lives and redefining what innovation should mean in an age of artificial intelligence.
Among the select group entrusted with deciding which ideas deserved the industry’s highest recognition was Dr. Juliet Ehimuan, technology leader, investor, and the only Africa-based leader invited to serve on the Cannes Lions Innovation Jury. For weeks, she joined global experts in evaluating groundbreaking work from every corner of the world, ultimately helping to identify the innovations that set a new global benchmark.
Weeks after the festival, with the talk about Cannes gradually fading, some questions remain more relevant than ever. What separates meaningful innovation from technological hype? Why is Africa still underrepresented on the world’s biggest creative stage? And what does the next generation of innovators need to understand?
Editor-in-Chief Omawumi Ogbe chats with the former Director of Google West Africa on the ideas that stayed with her long after Cannes, and why the future belongs not to those who create the most technology, but to those who create the most impact.
Glazia: Looking back a few weeks after Cannes Lions, what stands out most from your experience serving on the Innovation Jury?
Juliet Ehimuan: Serving on the Innovation Jury was both an honour and an education.
Over several weeks, we reviewed 116 shortlisted entries from around the world. What struck me most wasn’t simply the brilliance of the technology, but the creativity with which people were solving real human problems.
Innovation showed up across healthcare, sustainability, mobility, renewable energy, accessibility, and financial inclusion. The strongest entries all had one thing in common: they weren’t creating technology for its own sake. They were solving meaningful problems that improve people’s lives.
Another highlight was the jury itself. It brought together experts from Japan, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Nigeria. Despite our diverse backgrounds and experiences, everyone approached the discussions with humility, curiosity, and respect for different perspectives.
Those conversations were incredibly enriching. The diversity of thought ultimately made our decisions stronger.
G: Has the experience enhanced your definition of innovation?
JE: Absolutely! One of the biggest lessons from Cannes is that innovation is about far more than breakthrough technology.
Innovation is not just about generating bold ideas for the sake of novelty. I have always said that true innovation creates real change, transforms society, and serves humanity. It requires the discipline and empathy to translate complex challenges into practical solutions that make a measurable difference in people’s everyday lives.
That philosophy shaped every discussion we had throughout the judging process.
G: Only five projects received awards in your category. What distinguished them from the rest?
JE: This year, the Innovation Lions jury (led by Jury President Kazuhiro Shimura) shifted focus from “proof of concept” to “proof of change”. Each winning project demonstrated what I would describe as human-centred innovation.
The Grand Prix winner, Supernova Adaptive by Adidas and TBWA\Canada, perfectly captured this idea. It is the world’s first performance running shoe designed specifically for people with Down syndrome, addressing a challenge experienced by many within that community who struggle to find properly fitting footwear.
It wasn’t simply an impressive product. It solved a real problem through thoughtful design.
The Gold-winning project Utrecht Energized by Renault explored how electric vehicles could support renewable energy by enabling bi-directional charging between vehicles and the power grid.
The Silver winner, Radio Time Machine, used artificial intelligence to help people living with dementia reconnect with cherished memories by recreating news broadcasts and music from earlier decades through an interface designed to resemble a vintage radio.
One Bronze winner, SOS POS, repurposed everyday point-of-sale terminals so victims of phone theft could immediately block access to their bank accounts without needing to call their banks.
The other Bronze winner, T-Rex Leather, demonstrated how biotechnology could produce sustainable leather using fossilised Tyrannosaurus rex DNA, potentially reducing reliance on animal leather.
Each project addressed a very different challenge, but they all shared one characteristic: using innovation to improve human lives.
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