IGNITING POTENTIAL

Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship

AUGUST 2O13

$150,000 PRIZE OPENS FOR INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS WITH SOLUTIONS TO AFRICAN CHALLENGES

A competition, which will award prizes to entrepreneurs and innovators

who deliver market-oriented solutions for African development, has

been announced by the African Innovation Foundation (AIF).

AIF calls for entries for the 2014 Innovation Prize for Africa. The prestigious

prize, presented annually since 2012, aims at encouraging innovations

that contribute to sustainable development in Africa. The winning

submission will be awarded a prize of $100,000, with two additional $25,

000, one for the runner up with an innovation with the best business

potential and the other one for the runner up with the innovation with

the best social impact.

Therefore, the Innovation Prize for Africa invites African entrepreneurs

and innovators to propose projects that unlock new African potential

under one of five categories that include agriculture and agribusiness,

environment, energy and water, health and well-being, ICT applications,

and manufacturing and services industries.

“The IPA team believes that the best way to build Africa’s capacity is to

invest in local innovation and entrepreneurship. This prize encourages

Africans to develop creative ways to overcome everyday challenges,”

said AIF founder Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais.

The IPA 2013 was awarded to South Africa’s AgriProtein for its innovative

approach to nutrient recycling – a method that uses waste and fly

larvae to produce natural animal feed. The 2013 prize also recognised

two additional winners for their contributions to African innovation. In

the business potential category, Hassine Labaied and Anis Aouini from

Saphon Energy (Tunisia) received $25, 000 for creating a bladeless wind

convertor.

CONTENT

BUSINESS DAY

1

1 $150,000 Prize Opens for Innovative Entrepreneurs with Solutions to African Challenges

2 Cape Entrepreneurs up the Ante 2 Nigeria to Host Africa Entrepreneurship Summit

3 The AfDB SME Program Approval: Boosting Inclusive Growth in Africa

4 African Development Fund - Skills, Jobs and Entrepreneurship in Rwanda

4 SMEs: Engine Of Social And Economic Development In Africa6

6 African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program Participants Gather at AGOA Forum

7 Ethiopia: “Entrepreneurship Isn’t About Easy Money”

10 $10m Venture Fund to Create More Jobs

11 Why African Entrepreneurs Outperform Their Peers On Leveled Playing Field

13 Economic Growth in Africa Provides Opportunity for SMEs

10 Nigerian Students Defeat U.S., China, South Koreans to Win Entrepreneurship World Cup

2

IGNITING POTENTIAL

Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship

In the social impact category, Sanoussi Diakite (Senegal)

received $25, 000 for developing and distributing a thermal

powered machine that husks 5 kilogrammes of fonio – an

important and healthy West African cereal – in just eight

minutes. This innovation increases accessibility to a nutritious

African staple food source and addresses challenges

associated with its consumption.

With more than 1,350 applications received to date, the IPA

aims to support Africans’ efforts to develop new products,

increase efficiency and drive cost-savings on the continent.

The IPA also provides a platform for African innovators to

showcase their solutions to potential investors and seek

partners to scale up their marketable concepts. Only

innovations by Africans and for Africans are eligible to enter.

Africans in the Diaspora can also apply if their innovations

are of significance to Africa.

The registration deadline for the 2014 prize has been set

for October 31, 2013. Detailed information of competition

categories, conditions of entry and submission procedures

are available on the Innovation Prize for Africa website.

Business Day. 2013. $150, 000 prize opens for innovative

entrepreneurs with solutions to African challenges.

Business Day [online]. 12 August 2013. Available at www.

businessdayonline.com/2013/08/150-000-prize-opens-

for-innovative-entrepreneurs-with-solutions-to-african-

challenges (accessed 12 August 2013).

In a report released in early 2013, South Africa showed

dismal performance in comparison to other emerging

countries in creating new entrepreneurs. The 2012 Global

Entrepreneurship Monitor report stated that entrepreneurship

statistics were lower in 2012 than that of the previous year.

Daniel Marcus, Cape-based chief executive officer of

conference and events company Living Your Brand says

that while entrepreneurial success is possible in South Africa,

a positive outlook and a never-say-die attitude are key for

survival.

Speaking of his own experience, Daniel says that Living Your

Brand, which this month celebrates three years in operation, Lagos — The board of International Federation of Training

and Development Organisation (IFTDO) has granted

was born out of fresh thinking and a general frustration with

the state of a certain niche. Together with Jaco van Zyl and

Jacobus le Roux, who run the events and conferencing

divisions of the business, Daniel has established Living

Your Brand as one of South Africa’s leading events and

conferencing agencies in just three short years.

“I’m a firm believer in the old cliché that ‘you can never be

too positive’. In South Africa there are so many negatives

that we could focus on instead of finding our individual

window of opportunity and jumping at it.” Daniel started

Living Your Brand after a series of both successful and

unsuccessful business ventures, to which he attributes the

success of the company. “You’re unlikely to succeed unless

you’ve experienced failure at some point.”

In addition to private events, Daniel and his team

conceptualised the popular Integrated Marketing

Communications conference (IMC) concept. The

conference, which is now in its fourth year, has run in both

Johannesburg and Cape Town – with a third event to

be held in London in 2014. He credits the success of the

concept to the passion and enthusiasm of the team at

Living Your Brand, as well as the gap they filled by focusing

on integration in the marketing sector.

Over the past three years the company has built up an

impressive client profile which includes brands such as

Bentley SA, FNB Wealth, Nedbank Capital, Sanlam Investment

Management, Vodacom, Standard Bank, Lanxess, Landis &

Gyr, GEMS and The Jacob Zuma Foundation.

“We are very excited about what the future holds for the

company as well as the industry. The passion and belief

in achieving new heights for clients that our team brings

everyday is what will continue to set us apart,” says Daniel.

Cape Business News. 2013. Cape Entrepreneurs up the Ante.

Cape Business News [blog]. 12 August 2013. Available at

http://www.cbn.co.za/dailynews/6917.html (accessed 12

August 2013).

NIGERIA TO HOST AFRICA ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT

CAPE ENTREPRENEURS UP THE ANTE

NURUDEEN OYEWOLE

CAPE BUSINESS NEWS

3Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship

AUGUST 2O13

Nigeria the hosting right of the 7th African Regional

Entrepreneurship Conference in November 2013.

At a press briefing heralding the conference in Lagos,

Chairman, Conference Planning Committee, Rev. Tunde

Salawu said the international conference which is to hold

in November, 2013 in Abuja is strategically employed to

address growing unemployment crisis in Africa.

“The summit is to harness resources across the continent

and to use skill acquisition in different ramifications to solve

youth unemployment which has become a scourge in the

whole of African continent. And it is on that basis we have

chosen as a theme for the conference: “Skills Acquisition

as a panacea for youth unemployment in Africa” Salawu

said.

According to the Organising Committee Chairman,

participants at the summit are drawn from both public and

private sectors of all African countries.

Salawu said topics such as economic and social impact

of youth unemployment in Africa, leveraging on ICT for

skill acquisition and youth employment, embedding

entrepreneurship in African education curriculum as well

the Public-Private Partnership option in addressing Skills

Development and Employment Crisis, among others.

Oyewole, N. 2013. Africa: Nigeria to Host Africa

Entrepreneurship Summit. Daily Trust (online). 20 July 2013.

Available at http://allafrica.com/stories/201307221353.html

(accessed 12 August 2013).

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank