The African Diaspora Network (ADN), for the sixth consecutive year, is supporting the rising stars of African entrepreneurship with the Builders of Africa’s Future (BAF) award, which celebrates innovation and impact in early-stage African enterprises.
Announcing the sixth cohort of the BAF yesterday with 10 entrepreneurs from Nigeria, Cameroun, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, Almaz Negash, Founder and Executive Director of ADN, said: “We are excited to be supporting another cohort of outstanding African entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to catalyse growth for their enterprises and drive impact in their respective communities.
“A special thank you to the dedication of our funders, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), for their belief in these grassroots entrepreneurs as the Builders of Africa’s Future,” she said.
All participating organisations in the cohort are 100 per cent African-led and owned, operating in the education, recycling, health tech and innovation, poultry farming, FinTech, green energy, and coffee farming sectors.
The ten entrepreneurs who make up the 2023 BAF cohort are Adeola Ayoola, CEO & Co-Founder, Famasi Africa (Nigeria); Godwin Benson, CEO and Founder, Tuteria (Nigeria); Olufunto Boroffice, CEO and Founder, Chanja Datti Ltd. (Nigeria); Henry Ngale Foretia, Founder, AIT Group (Cameroun); Sister Josephine Nabulya, Treasurer and Marketer, Ssunga Coffee Social Enterprise (Uganda); Grace Nakibaala, Architect and Founder, PedalTap (Uganda); Virtue Oboro, CEO and Founder, Tiny Hearts Technology (Nigeria); Sserubiri Joseph Uhuru, Co-Founder and CEO, eMaisha Pay (Uganda); Patrice Wachira, CEO, Patvention Limited (Kenya); and Mathias Charles Yabe, CEO & Co-Founder, AkoFresh (Ghana).
Since 2018, ADN has catalysed the growth of 53 African entrepreneurs across the continent by providing training, funding, access to strategic partnerships, mentorship, and frontline access to investment opportunities in Silicon Valley, United States. Past recipients of the BAF award have gone on to receive additional funding from investors, increased visibility, and recognition from international organisations.
The ten entrepreneurs will receive enterprise development training from the African Management Institute of Kenya from June to September and participate in the Builders of Africa’s Future Pitch Day and celebrate their programme completion at their graduation ceremony in September 2023.
The BAF cohort will also get access to mentorship and networking opportunities, a platform to boost brand visibility, and investment potential in Silicon Valley.
The BAF programme identifies African entrepreneurs running early-stage nonprofits or for-profit businesses that address key community needs through technology or differentiated business models. ADN through BAF, will help scale their ventures and impact in their respective sectors.
Source: guardian.ng