The critical problems that are prevalent in society require creative ways to solve them. Most of these problems are racism, gender inequality, environmental decay, poverty, etc. Since social innovation requires creative ways to solve critical issues, the need for the Anzisha Prize for young African entrepreneurs in 2020 arises to this effect.
Are you a young entrepreneur in Africa whose innovative ideas have solved lots of societal problems? Do you have a successful business that you started from scratch?
The aim of the Anzisha Prize is to award young entrepreneurs who have created and implemented innovative solutions to social problems. It is also for young entrepreneurs that own successful businesses within their communities.
This Anzisha Prize is the biggest award in Africa which is given to very young and promising entrepreneurs within Africa. In fact, these young entrepreneurs get over $100,000 every year in funding to entrepreneurs from all over the continent.
The Anzisha Program is a partnership between the African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation whose aim is to increase the number of job entrepreneurs in Africa. On the other hand, the program will test, implement, and share new models that will identify and connect these entrepreneurs. This will help many more organizations have better collective success in creating a pipeline of entrepreneurs with the capabilities for scale.
Also, 20 finalists from across Africa will win an all-expenses-paid trip to South Africa for a two-week entrepreneurship workshop and conference at the African Leadership Academy campus on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Winners will emerge from the finalists and they will share prizes worth $100,000 USD.
Afterward, the fellowship will offer them business consulting services to unlock growth potential in their venture. It will also link them to a global network of leaders. This will give the winners access to global speaking opportunities thereby supporting their professional development.
The winners of the Anzisha Prize for young African entrepreneurs will get:
Listed below are the requirements for the Anzisha program for young entrepreneurs in Africa.
Before you qualify as one of the Anzisha ventures, your business or project will be judged based on the following criteria:
Additionally, to be selected as one of the Anzisha Fellows, the person must demonstrate the following qualities:
17 February 2020: Applications Open for the 2020 Anzisha Prize.
1 April 2020: Applications close.
May 2020: Phone interviews and due diligence visit with the semi-finalists, and final selection.
July 2020: Announcement of the top 50 finalists of the 2020 edition of the Anzisha Prize.
August 2020: Announcement of the top 20 2020 Finalists.
October 2020: Anzisha Business Accelerator and Anzisha Prize Awards Forum.
Uganda Institute of Information and Communication Technology
Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba
Uganda Christian University
Nkumba University
Nkumba University