The Anzisha Prize has unveiled its top 20 finalists for the 2019 award. It is out of these that the winner will take home the $25 000 grand prize at the Anzisha Prize Forum to be held on 22 October in Johannesburg.
The Anzisha Prize, key in identifying, supporting and celebrating young African entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 to 22 has selected two Ugandans to contest in the finals to find if their ideas are fit for the grand prize.
The two include Saudah Birungi, aged 22, who co-founded Tusafishe – an enterprise that constructs water filters using locally available materials for students in rural schools and in their homes to provide them with safe drinking water.
The other Ugandan finalist is Catherine Nalukwago, aged 22, who is also the co-founder of Vertical and Micro Gardening – an enterprise that has developed a product called The Vertical Farm which makes urban farming a viable micro-enterprise for low-income households.
The other finalists in no particular order are:
Asia Saeed, 20, Somalia; Godiragetse Fareed Mogajane, 21, South Africa; Marvellous Nyongoro, 22, Zimbabwe; Velache Henry, 19, Sierra Leone; Emmanuel Owusu Agyei, 22, Ghana; Jaritou Jallow, 21, Gambia; Caleb Annobil, 21, Ghana; Christian Tesfaye Kassahun, 21, Ethiopia; and Mamadjang Jallow, 20, Gambia.
Also on the list is Olipah Chomba, 22, Zambia; Osvaldo Rey Mokouma, 19, Republic of Congo; Segbe Accrombessi, 22, Benin; Balbina Gulam, 21, Tanzania; Cecil Chikezie, 21, Kenya; Abdulwaheed Alayande, 21, Nigeria; Emmanuel Okon, 22, Nigeria; Raghda Medhat, 22, Egypt; and Yannick Kimanuka, 21, DRC.
The finalists will converge in Johannesburg for a 12-day accelerator boot camp where they will be coached by local and global experts in preparation for the independent judging panel who will decide the winner of the $25 000 grand prize.
This year saw applications received from various sectors, with agricultural businesses having the highest number of applications this year. Since its inception in 2010, the Anzisha Prize has recognized over twenty young entrepreneurs in Uganda.
