the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (Uganda)
Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee, the game-changing for-profit social enterprise which aims to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers whilst at the same time protecting mountain gorillas in Uganda, has just been recognised by this year’s prestigious SEED Awards.
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Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, co-founder and COO of Recycle Points (Nigeria)
Earlier this year, The Venture, a global competition staged by Chivas Regal, was launched with a mission to find promising, up-and-coming startups that also have a positive impact on the world. After a rigorous voting and pitching process involving inspirational social entrepreneurs from 32 countries, the grand final has just taken place in Los Angeles and Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, co-founder and COO of Recycle Points has scooped 2nd place and a prize of US$ 200,000.
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The Keroche Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program is one of the tangible ways that leading Kenyan entrepreneur, Tabitha Karanja, founder of Keroche Breweries, is fulfilling her vision of empowering a new generation of young entrepreneurs in her country. Five young women entrepreneurs have just been recognized for their business building activities in the second cohort to graduate from the program.
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Salma Abdulai, founder of Unique Quality Product Enterprise (Ghana)
Earlier this month, the 2017 group of Laureates were announced at the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, this year held in Singapore for the very first time. Cyrille Vigneron and Ilian Mihov announced the six laureates selected by an independent international jury amongst nearly 1900 applicants from over 120 countries. The Laureate for Sub-Saharan Africa this year was Salma Abdulai, founder of Unique Quality Product Enterprise in Ghana, a company processing and marketing Fonio, a nutritious and climate resistant indigenous cereal.
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Monica Musonda, funder of Java Foods (Zambia)
Zambian businesswoman Monica Musonda has been awarded the MEDays 2016 Forum “Champion of the South” award by the Amadeus Institute, an independent Moroccan think-tank, at a ceremony in Tangiers, Morocco. The recognition was for her creation of her innovative company, Java Foods, which is a model for a new generation of business leaders.
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From Left, Dr. Tariq Ahmed Nizami, CEO – CEO clubs network Worldwide, H.E Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Juma Al Maktoum, Mrs. Tabitha Karanja, CEO- Keroche Breweries
The inspirational Kenyan entrepreneur, Tabitha Karanja, founder of Keroche Breweries, has been recognized for her achievements with the 2016 Global Inspirational Women Leadership Award. This prestigious award was presented by the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD) an organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) and the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women (NOBEL Women), USA.
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As part of sponsorship of this year’s Lionesses of Africa 2016 Annual Conference, GE Africa Innovation Centre, General Electric’s newly launched Innovation Centre, based in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, and serving Sub-Saharan Africa, sponsored an Open Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs. Key qualification criteria for entrants included “a sustainable digital solution to a pressing challenge – or opportunity - ideally focusing on the sectors, and businesses, that GE SSA serves.”
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Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri, founder Vanhu Vamwe
Pam Samasuwo Nyawiri, multi-award winning founder of unique handbag and accessory design company, Vanhu Vamwe, has just been recognized for her groundbreaking work by the AWA African Women Association and their 2016 prestigious African Women Awards, picking up the Creative Visionary Award.
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Multi-award winning co-founder of South African retail giant, Hirsch’s, Margaret Hirsch, together with her husband co-founder Alan Hirsch, were announced as finalists in this year’s EY World Entrepreneur Awards South Africa this week. They were recognized for their incredible achievements as entrepreneurs and major brand builders in the prestigious Master Category of the Awards.
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Ethel Cofie, founder & CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting in Ghana
Ethel Cofie, CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting is Africa’s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government for the ICT Category, according to CEO Global. The award was conferred on her in South Africa on Tuesday November 23, 2016. The awards are the leading African recognition programme honoring excellence in the private and public sector. The programme covers 23 economic sectors and has for the past sixteen years independently recognized leaders who are at the pinnacle of their industry.
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Stephanie Cowper, the inspirational co-founder of Bespecular has been recognized for her groundbreaking work to help the blind see. She has been awarded with the Forbes Woman Africa - Tech Entrepreneur Award for 2016! Stephanie’s business, Bespecular, is a startup that uses technology to solve the problems which visually impaired people around the world face on a daily basis, all the while bridging the gap between the sighted and visually impaired communities.
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The accomplishments of the small business community in South Africa was in the spotlight as winners of the 2016 South African Small Business Awards were announced on 10 November at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg. In its eighth year, the South African Small Business Awards acknowledge the country’s most outstanding businesses and the remarkable people behind them. The awards are hosted by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC).
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Shona MacDonald, founder of Shonaquip (South Africa)
At this year’s SAB Foundation Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards, Shona MacDonald, founder of Shonaquip in South Africa, was announced as the winner of the inaugural Disability Empowerment Award at an official awards ceremony on 27 October 2016. The award was established in recognition of the increase in the number of innovations providing solutions for people with disabilities. As a means of recognizing the critical work carried out in this under-served sector, the SAB Foundation established the Disability Empowerment Awards, which carries an additional total prize money of R1.5-million. In judging this award, the innovation’s business potential, innovation, life change potential and scalability was reviewed.
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Stephanie Cowper, co-founder and CEO of BeSpecular
In August of this year, the game-changing South African techpreneur, Stephanie Cowper, co-founder and CEO of BeSpecular was nominated as a finalist for the MTN & Kagiso Media Women in ICT - Partnering for Change Awards under the Innovator Recognition category. Even more exciting is the fact that she won the award. The team of adjudicators selected Stephanie as the winner of the award and honoured her achievements inintroducing new methods and ideas that are contributing in to the delivery of a bold, new, digital world.
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Fairlady announced the winners of its annual Fairlady Women of the Future Awards, in partnership with Santam, at an exclusive VIP luncheon at Summer Place in Hyde Park, Johannesburg on Friday 19 August. Sarah Collins, founder of Wonderbag, was named the Fairlady Woman of the Future for 2016.
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Kenya's Keroche Breweries founder and chief executive Tabitha Karanja has been recognised for her fighting spirit and entrepreneurial mind. She received the Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa Award in the Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize in Accra, Ghana on Saturday 20 August, becoming only the fourth Kenyan to have won the prize after former President Mwai Kibaki, industrialist Manu Chandaria and US-based Harvard University Professor Calestous Juma.
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Margaret Hirsch, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores (South Africa)
Johannesburg, 18 August --- Margaret Hirsch wins the Top Business Women of 2016 Award at the Topco Media and Standard Bank Top Women Awards hosted on 18 August 2016 at Emperor’s Palace, Johannesburg. This event celebrates and recognises female leaders in business that form a part of the 13–year legacy that is the Top Women Awards.
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South Africa’s Popcorn Training has earned the prestigious Gold Winner status in the 8th annual Golden Bridge Awards® in the Winner Category - Information Technology and Security Innovations: Training and Education - Best Product or Service of the Year fortheir Security Awareness Series “Cyber Heroes”.
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Africa’s future lies in the hands of its youthful population. But, while the region’s start-up businesses are gaining confidence and scale with a growing number of innovations achieving recognition beyond the region’s borders, much more must be done to create an enabling environment that allows entrepreneurs to flourish. This is especially the case for women entrepreneurs, whose potential is far from being optimized. This was the reason for a World Economic Forum challenge to find Africa’s top women Innovators. The criteria for the challenge required entrants’ companies to be less than three years old, be earning revenue for at least a year, and have proven innovation and positive social impact.
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Tracey Chambers (L) and Yasmina Filali (R)
The 2016 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs of the Year awards have just been announced, and 2 women from Africa are amongst the winners this year - Tracey Chambers of the Clothing Bank in South Africa and Yasmina Filali of Fondation Orient Occident in Morocco. The awards acknowledge the work and contribution made by 12 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 11 organizations operating in more than 70 countries that are pioneering solutions for social and environmental challenges, from child labour to women's empowerment to climate change and more.
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