On April 17th the US-based Entrepreneurs' Organization's (EO) Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), the premier global competition honoring the top student entrepreneurs who have founded and are running revenue-generating businesses, named Wangechi Mwangi, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kenyan fintech startup Valuraha, as winner of the Global Social Impact Award. The award gala took place at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Wangechi Mwangi won the Social Impact Award, for leveraging her business to improve her community and the world at-large. The idea for Valuraha was created to open up access to financing, financial education and trading competence in Kenya and Africa using its virtual trading platform.
Mwangi is a student at Strathmore University in Nairobi, and qualified for the awards by winning the East African chapter organised by iBizAfrica, an incubation centre home to Valuraha. The 21-year-old student won the prize after competing against a field of 2,000 entrepreneurs from 38 countries in a series of national and regional competitions. Mwangi and co-founder Kinyanjui Njoroge started Valuraha to help young people learn how to save and invest money. The company runs investment clubs in high schools allowing students to learn about personal finance and investing while interacting with a virtual trading platform that simulates the investment ecosystem in Kenya.
The GSEA awards recognise and honour student entrepreneurs running revenue-generating businesses. “The foundation of this programme is to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. This year we saw some amazing competitors with innovative businesses. These student business owners remind us that entrepreneurship has no age limit. They innovate, create jobs, and impact their communities all the while attending school full-time,” said Annush Ramasamy, GSEA committee chairman. The GSEA is not just a competition; it helps students grow their businesses and succeed in their countries, as well as learn from experienced entrepreneurs. The program focuses on mentorship, learning, support and recognition for the hard work that comes with student entrepreneurship.
As the premier global competition for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) represents more than 2,000 of the prominent student entrepreneurs from more than 38 countries. Built on a mission to inspire students to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures, GSEA brings global visibility to pioneering student business owners. Since 1998, the GSEA, a program founded at the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University, has honored outstanding students who simultaneously attend university full-time while running their own businesses. The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) took on leadership of the GSEA in 2006 to offer student entrepreneurs access to a global network of mentors, resources and connections from the most influential community of entrepreneurs in the world.
About Valuraha Group
Valuraha Group is a limited Kenyan company that exists to open up finance to Kenya and Africa on a larger scale. The Valuraha Trader is a platform that simulates the Kenyan Financial Markets enabling one to interact with various investment instruments, under actual market conditions, using virtual money. The purpose of the platform is to enhance one's understanding of their investment options in our financial ecosystem and enable utilization of these channels in the real world to grow their money. To learn more about them visit www.valuraha.com/home.html
About the Entrepreneurs' Organization
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 10,000 influential business owners with 147 chapters in 48 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond. To nominate a student entrepreneur, or to get involved, or for more information, visit www.eonetwork.org. Then join the conversation on Facebook and follow GSEA on Twitter at @EO_GSEA.