Africa Future Stars

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At 27, he is already the CEO of two companies in Nigeria worth millions of naira. His clothing line, Owambe Clothings, is a well-known brand that promotes both indigenous African styles and western styles.

After graduating from the university, Ola-Abraham Emmanuel, decided to go into fashion designing after picking interest in the business during the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and has not looked back. He has styled personalities like former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, the current Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, and many others. He has about 18 full time staff in his workforce.

His second company is agriculture-based. The young entrepreneur has acquired large acres of land in the South western part of the country, which he subsidises to youths and adults who want to go into farming. He does not only sell the land to would-be farmers, he also has a team that helps the individuals with the farming; all they need to do is acquire the land and his team will do the farming,

In a chat with Olamide Babatunde, he speaks of his engagement in both industries.

Excerpt:

Meeting the man
My name is Ola-Abraham Emmanuel, a 27-year-old Nigerian and I am the CEO of Owambe Clothings. I am one of the few entrepreneurs who changed the face of fashion and agriculture in Nigeria. I am a trained journalist but found love in agriculture at childhood and fashion designing from NYSC orientation camp.

After my NYSC, I established my company, Owambe Clothings, with 18 employees. In less than a year, the company has sewn over 3,000 Nigerian attires. I also design clothes for former President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, top celebrities, civil servants and government officials. Three years ago, I organised Africa’s largest fashion show, a show where I featured 112 models from Nigeria, Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana to exhibit my designs in one show and one event. That show had more than 800 guests in attendance, and the Governor of Ogun State was represented.

I also initiated an agriculture initiative called “Own a Hectare with 80k.” I have encouraged over 50 young Nigerians to go into farming by providing lands at affordable rate and instalment payments.

Entrepreneurship rather than journalism
The media communicates to the people in a bid to change their perceptions. Fashion is the same. Our designs change trends, speak to people’s attention, affection and create attraction or repulsion. My love for fashion is to change the way we see the world and what we wear. I want Nigerians to wear Nigeria Monday to Friday. Therefore, in my fashion, I’m still doing my media work, which is agenda setting. So, as you can see, it is a different field but the same objective.

Start-up capital
I had initially approached one of the Federal Government’s SME funds in 2011 but along the line it stopped. Then I raised money with the most important currency in the world. Integrity! Because I possess a tangible amount of integrity I could get sufficient funds from friends, families and even enemies.

Dealing with omo-nile (land grabbers)
I think the omo-nile issue is worse in Lagos. This is because there are a lot of people and limited land. In other places, it is not like that. Some of our lands are bought from government; some are bought from people who inherited it. We meet them, tell them our passion and make them believe and buy into it, we negotiate and pay. And about the fundraising, before I bought lands, my other business had raised a reasonable amount of money then I also met with friends and families again. Remember, I have never disappointed them. So it was easy for them to part with their money too. Some gave their money as investors, others as loan. Whichever way, we are getting close to our dream.

Response to agric project, especially the youth
The Nigerian youth needs help. Tell them to work, they say no job. Give them job they say it is too difficult and time consuming. 80 per cent of the people who have bought into this idea are adults. The young constitutes only about 20 per cent. They are not ready to do anything. They want quick and fast money. Nothing comes easy. Not even dying.

Managing the workforce
I don’t interact personally with all of them and some of them are not in Lagos. We only get to interact twice in a year at our end of year party and sales/or any other event. To lead them, each department has its head and each head reports to me directly. They all have tasks they execute. From my experience, I learnt that to best deal with staff, you must motivate them, threaten them and also punish them. So that is what I do when necessary.

Since graduation, have you ever worked for anyone?
Since graduation I have not worked for anyone.

Family/business
Marriage has changed my work routine because it has made it better. Before now, it was almost like I live and work in the office because most of the time, I sleep in the office and work round the clock. Getting married made it more effective. I get more organised, get home to think more and effectively with my partner. Then come to work the following day to effect the plans and the thought we had. Aside that, I write a lot and my wife also helps me with the editing. She does that better than I do.

Ambassador Matthew Adeyemi Adeniyi has emerged the substantive President-General of the World Youth Organization, an affiliate of the United Nations. Adeniyi was elected and inaugurated on Saturday in New Delhi, India as the first elected President-General of the WYO after a keenly contested election.

He defeated contestants from eight countries.
These are US, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Yemen, Palestine, Albania, Sudan and Nepal. According to Davies Johnson from Austria, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Adeniyi polled 1,679 votes to defeat his closest rival, Jack Adraka of the United States, who scored 511 votes. Adeniyi, who was proclaimed as an ambassador in 2013 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA, clinched the coveted seat in a clean win at te venue of the event in Vigyan Bhawan.

Prior to the election and inauguration of the Ambassador Adeniyi-led executive, which will run the affairs of the world youth body for the next four years, the WYO was run by a transition committee headed by Max Goodwin Kieran from Romford, the United Kingdom. Other executive members who would steer the ship of the organization with Ambassador Adeniyi for the next four years are Karla Sugey Rodriguez (Mexico), Secretary General; Claire Pace (Malta), Treasurer; and Vice Presidents Devjyoti Dutya (North America), Rochana Richardson (Europe), Emmah Musenyah (Africa), Fursan Mohammed (Asia), Junior Menezes (South America), Elvana Shala (Australia).

All other countries of the world are represented at the executive committee level. Adeniyi, who hails from Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has been involved in youth projects and empowerment activities since his days as a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and The Western University of Ontario, Canada. Notable among the achievements of Adeniyi as a youth leader and diplomat are the establishment of the global Youth Trust Funds and the passage of Youth Empowerment Schemes Bill into law when he was the President of the United Nations Global Youths and the Convener of the Confederation of the United Nations Youth during the tenure of Ban Ki-Moon, the immediate past Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Addressing the delegates at the assembly, Adeniyi said he would uphold the tenets of the WYO and work towards the achievement of the main objectives of the biggest global youth organization, which was primarily founded for the welfare of youths across the globe and promotion of awareness on the importance of participation in the leadership process of every nation of the world.

Speaking further, Ambassador Adeniyi stated that he, with his other executive members, would work towards the WYO’s goals using the organisation’s ideology of friendship and unity. World leaders and dignitaries at the event included Vice President of India, Mohammed Hmid Ansariof; Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations; India’s Minister of External Affairs, Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna; Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ajay Maken; National Security Adviser, Shivshankar Menon; Ambassador Almad Alhendawi, Special Envoy on Youth Affairs to the United Nation’s Secretary-General; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and Ministers of Youth Affairs across the world.

Ijeoma Abiakam name might not ring a bell to some but to many she is indeed a rising young African star to watch out for. She is focused, resilient and a true definition of an African woman. She is the CEO Of Footstool productions, a media outfit situated in Abuja which is about 5yrs old and has created and produced both TV shows and beauty pageant shows such as Thumbs up Africa Munachi and Miss island beauty pageant show (a.k.a taking the girls off the street). Though they are other productions she is involved in but these two are the most obvious works.

Recently, we caught up with her and in an interview with Emmanuel Aniagoh, Chief Editor at Africafuturestars. Munachi, as she is fondly called bare it all, taking us to her world of many surprises. Her story will surely dazzle you

Below are excerpt from the interview;

Who is Munachi?
My names are Vera Ijeoma Abiakam. Yes I christened myself Munachi when it became obvious to me that God has a special duty for me. I am the fourth child of my parents blessed with 5 lovely siblings.
I was born in Delta State of Nigeria, the very year all my mates were born. I attended the prestigious Holy family Nursery School Ikom in Cross rivers State of Nigeria. My Father's job kept taking us around the Country, so I had my primary education at the Santa Maria primary School Aba(a.k.a constitution crescent primary school Aba).

After my Primary education we were forced to leave Aba because armed robbers had turned G.R.A Aba into a horror zone. In fact it was so bad that every family always kept enough money in the house in case the ‘dangerous friends’ showed up. They did show up so we left the next morning to Enugu. The first term had long started when I was asked to go for the usual interview for Jss1, on arrival I was told that the interview was over but my Dad insisted on seeing the principal of the school and I was opportune to have a VIP's interview in Mrs Emehelu's office(laughing), who was the Principal of Queen’s School Enugu. I attended both Queen's school Enugu and Federal Government Girls' College Owerri respectively.

My school mother was shocked to realize that I couldn't even wash my stockings, I was a domestic nuisance but I was active in Sports and social activities plus I had a knack for taking care of students in the sick bay. I am glad and proud to have experienced these schools, they exposed me positively and moulded me. I am a graduate of Theatre arts ,Nnamdi Azikiwe university Awka.

Are you a religious person?
You may not believe it but I gave my life to Jesus Christ in Jss 2 after I was invited for students fellowship, I still remember vividly. I started preaching from class to class and conducting fellowships and the result was awesome. And so yeah, am closer to my maker.

How did your journey into the entertainment industry start?
I started my entertainment journey so many years ago,my first gospel tracks were programmed by Wizboy and Oke Oku(Sele bobo's elder brother)at the Golden gate Studio at Enugu I performed in Schools and Churches I started the first Theatre troupe in my department with the help of Professor Tracy utoh Obiajulu and the Fatherly approval of our wonderful H.O.D Dr Dan Nwedo Uwandu .

What are the highlights of your career as an entertainer
Well, these highlights which turned out to be my happiest moments are many but I will talk about just few. The first was when I performed at star trek in Yola Adamawa State alongside D'banj,Dr Sid,Muma Gee,Ruggedman, Da'diva and other artiste. Surprisingly, I was a corps member, but people took note of my talent.

Another was when I was introduced to Kennis Music by Uncle Gbenga Adeyinka(shine shine bobo). I insisted I was a gospel Artiste so that meeting was put on hold. Kennis saint brown remains the only gospel act they have. However, D1 remains one of my best friends on earth. I would also remember my happiest moment to be when I was called upon by the Abti American University to perform for the then Vice President of the country, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar . It was a grand opening of Abti American University club.

The last but not the least was when I was recommended by the national troupe of Nigeria to sing the National Anthem for the Ford foundation Company who were promoting one of their numerous programmes at the Eko hotels and suites.

Munachi and her team after her performance

You are also active on TV shows, what was the motivation behind that?
I delved into TV by chance…(laughed). The ITV's executive director Mr Isiaku Aliyu back then watched an interview where I was promoting one of my tracks and decided that TV was my calling. Together we created an entertainment TV show titled Kalangu the talking drum. This show featured great Artiste like Denrele Edu,P.square,Jude Okoye, Suam Pam Kevin(big brother Africa ,Samsong , Hon Hilda Dokubo Nrakpo and the list goes on.

At some point I worked with the National troupe of Nigeria, resigned and worked as a Cabin Crew in Arik, resigned and started my very own media out fit Footstool productions . footstool has produced shows such as why I love Nigeria, Thumbs up Africa, and a beauty pageant show tagged Miss Island.

We all have challenges in our various careers, how has yours affected you and career?
I have made so many business decisions that didn't end well but I find myself moving on. Also a menstrual disorder, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder(PMDD), which is not only peculiar to me, has been a concern but thanks to good medical care, the disorder is well managed. Medically speaking only 3-8% of women suffer from this but many people in Africa are aware of it and it is a cause for concern.

You are all about Africa, you are passionate about the youth and you showcase to the world what Africans are capable of. What is the reason behind this?
I enjoy celebrating the efforts of Africans, especially the youths because I have toiled for long too and I pray that the celebration never ends. Africa has come of age, at this time we must promote our culture and heritage. So many young Africans with great skills and talents abound, it is high time we harness such skills and showcase them. That is what I am all about. I had a show called Do la la nite it was in partnership with the Nicon Hotel in VGC. I always create something for the youths.

Any special people in your life, who you had contributed positively to what you have become today?
Yeah, first and foremost, my family, they are the most important thing in my life. I have Professor Julius Okojie he is the reason Footstool productions is a reality. I will never forget General Dr Ovadje, for praying earnestly for me as if I were his daughter.
I appreciate Mr Isiaku Aliyu for introducing me to Tv production. I want to say a big thank you to the following important people; Father Celestine Eze, Dr Dan Nwedo Uwandu, Prof Tracy Utoh Obiajulu, Prof Emma Ebo, Prof Obadiegwu, Prof Asigbo, Father Professor Bonachristus Umeogu , Mr Imoni Amarere and Chief Philip Udi

More photos below...

Kwadwo Safo Jr, CEO of Katanka cars.

The African continent has come to be viewed as only interested in consuming what Asia and the western world manufactures. This is quite true in some ways. Almost all electronics and cars used in Africa are imported from other continents. Yet this is not to say there are no manufacturers in Africa. Only that they are not enough yet.

One of the few companies changing the face of manufacturing in Africa is the Kantanka Group. The Kantanka Group is split into two parts: An electronics division and a car manufacturing company. Kantanka Cars is Ghana’s first car-maker and one of the few on the African continent. It is is an Ashanti privately held electric car manufacturing company founded by Kwadwo Safo and headquartered in Kumasi the capital of Ashanti City-State with an assembly plant in located at Gomoa Mpota in the Central region of the Ashantiland Peninsula.

Kwadwo Safo strangely enough is a pastor, the founder of the Christ Reformed Church, and is known locally in Ghana as the “Star of Africa”. His nickname comes from his achievements, which truly are legendary. His son, 30-year-old Kwadwo Safo Jr. is now the CEO of Kantanka.

In a recent interview with CNN, The young CEO revealed that his father had the knack for building things as a child. He also revealed that his father started the family business, Kantanka, 20 years ago, making electrical devices from TVs and sound systems to musical instruments and sewing machines in a country with virtually no history of manufacturing.

He said: “(My father) had ambition and foresight. He thought of everything in preparation of Kantanka.” The young man who said he trained as a pilot but had put that dream on hold to face the family business, also said: “We are expanding our current production line to include a lower-end model which we will launch before the end of the year. We have made quite significant sales, including a very important one to the office of the president.” He also said operating in Ghana came with its own difficulties. ranging from power cuts and getting fuel needed for the back-up generators used to run the business.

He also revealed that people find it difficult to trust the ‘Made in Ghana’ cars. “People think the doors will come off or the tires will blow off or something,” he said, during the interview. According to him, they are able to produce 150 cars a month, and with high production costs at home, the cheapest of its three models costs about $20,000. “We need to be able to produce at a more affordable rate. There are high import charges in Ghana,” he said. Despite the difficulties however, the young CEO is determined and sure the car company will grow. “We have a plan to build sports cars, buses and really expand in Africa with more models,” says Safo Jr, from his headquarters just outside the capital of Accra. Once you are determined and you want to do it, it’s not hard,” he said.

See more photos of their vehicles:

Katanka Jeeps

Katanka Police Van

Source: Naij.com

Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24. According to the World Bank, youth account for 60 percent of all unemployed people on the continent, with young women bearing the sting of unemployment as young men are favoured for jobs. Instead of succumbing to fear of these statistics, many young people have taken the entrepreneurship route, turning problems that they encounter in their communities into solution-orientated businesses.

Here is a list of top 10 young African leaders doing great things to transform their communities and their lives:

1. SITAWA WAFULA from KENYA

Sitawa Wafula is a 31-year old mental health activist, philanthropist and entrepreneur from Nairobi, Kenya. As a result of a traumatic experience at the age of 18, Wafula suffered from severe depression which resulted in a dual diagnosis of epilepsy and bipolar disorder. With no support system, rising medical bills and little access to information, Wafula faced stigma due to her condition.

Out of this experience, she decided to provide a forum for Africans going through the same experiences, to not only access information about mental health issues, but also to find support. She launched her self-titled blog as well as her mental health social enterprise; My Mind, My Funk which ran Kenya’s first free mental health support line and provided support to over 11,000 Kenyans struggling with mental health issues.

She has been named as a Non Communicable Disease Champion by the Kenyan Ministry of Health, recognized among the top 40 under 40 women in Kenya and has had her work featured in various media publications including BBC and Al Jazeera.

2. HANEEFAH ADAM from NIGERIA
Twenty-four year-old Nigerian medical scientist, Haneefah Adam, gave the popular Barbie doll a makeover. Adam got the idea for the makeover after coming across the Barbie style Instagram page and thought that it would be great to see a doll in a hijab – an attire that is culturally relevant to her.

Adam also hopes that Hijarbie will change the negative stereotype of the hijab as oppressive clothing for Muslim women, into a positive affirmation of female Muslim identity and culture. Hijarbie has since amassed more than 58 000 followers on Instagram. The popularity of Hijarbie ties in with the JWT 2016 Trends report that forecasted that Middle Eastern and North African style will play a bigger role in the fashion and beauty spheres particularly for women.

3. MABEL SUGLO from GHANA
Mabel Suglo is a 23-year-old entrepreneur from Ghana who is the founder of the Eco-Shoes Project, which is an initiative and company that manufactures shoes and accessories from discarded tyres and recycled materials. Suglo employs disabled people who are often marginalized from society due to discrimination.

In an interview, Suglo says that the initiative was inspired by her late grandmother, who suffered discrimination due to her leprosy condition, and various other people in her community who had physical disabilities. She wanted to create employment opportunities for them, as well as create comfortable shoes for her grandmother from durable materials.

She then created her first pairs of shoes made from discarded tyres for her grandmother, then partnered with a local school for disabled children and two business partners to get her idea off the ground. The business now employs five artisans, and manufactured over 1000 pairs of shoes in 2014. She was the second runner up of the 2015 Anzisha Prize by the African Leadership Academy in South Africa and the MasterCard Foundation.

4. KAYLI VEE LEVITAN from SOUTH AFRICA
Kayli Vee Levitan is a South African copywriter, blogger and co-founder of the successful philanthropic initiative, The Street Store. Levitan co-founded The Street Store, which is a pop-up clothing store for the homeless, with her colleague, Max Pazak in 2014.

The initiative is stocked by donations, and is now an open-source initiative that allows other philanthropists from South Africa and abroad to host their own pop-up store in collaboration with a charity of their choice. Over 200 pop-up stores have been set up globally, and over 200 000 homeless people have been assisted with clothing. She has also worked on other philanthropic projects, including work with Dementia SA and the Women’s Hope.

5. SAMAH AL-GADI from SUDAN
Samah al-Gadi is a 32-year-old Sudanese entrepreneur who won the first season of the popular Sudanese entrepreneurial TV show Mashrouy. The TV show, which first aired in 2013, is devised to encourage young entrepreneurship in the country where over 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Aspiring contestants apply with a potential project, which is then screened by judges, who then choose 12 contestants to be part of the show.

Al-Gadi, with an academic background in social development and agriculture, proposed an environmentally friendly project to help communities living along the riverbanks of the Nile, which involved removing water hyacinth that causes problems such as parasitic growth and diminishing fish populations with the help of community members, who would then repurpose the hyacinth as materials for ropes, bags and furniture. Her project not only earned her first place in the show, but also inspired female Sudanese viewers to place more importance on their studies and careers.

Her prize included over $20 000, an opportunity to meet British entrepreneurs as the show is sponsored by the British Council and business training in Thailand. Her project is being implemented in the Nile community of Kosti in Khartoum.

6. CHRISTOPHER ATEGEKA from UGANDA
Ugandan born Christopher Ategeka is the founder and CEO of Rides For Lives, which is a company that provides mobile healthcare to rural communities in Kampala. The mobile health units are fitted with a pharmacy, a general practitioner and a lab for conducting tests for diseases such as malaria and HIV. The idea for the company came as after Ategeka’s brother passed away due to lack of access to adequate healthcare after he fell ill.

He has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, and has several awards under his belt for his work on Rides For Lives including the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) award and the Judith Lee Stronach award. He also made it on the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work with the company in 2014.

7. BETHLEHEM TILAHUN ALEMU from ETHIOPIA
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is the founder and CEO of SoleRebels; a footwear company that is the world’s first Fairtrade Certified footwear by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). Alemu started the company in 2004 in Addis Ababa, as a means of job creation for skilled but underemployed artisans, weavers and small farmers in her community while exporting Ethiopian heritage to the world.

Over 90 percent of manufacturing is done by hand, earning the company the accolade of being the world’s first Fairtrade-certified footwear company. She has a few accolades under her belt for her eco-friendly and community-minded business, including a Young Global Leader award as well as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the 2012 World Economic Forum on Africa. The company has 18 global standalone outlets and further expands its reach through online stores such as Amazon.

8. LEBOGANG MARUAPULA from BOTSWANA
Botswana’s Lebogang Maruapula is the regional ambassador for Girl Rising; an international movement which brings awareness on equal opportunities for girls as well as the co-founder of The Goddess Foundation, which focuses on women empowerment for young women through mentorship and education.

Driven by a passion to positively influence her community and make a meaningful impact, Maruapula co-founded The Goddess Foundation in 2011, and which has since been involved in mentoring young women and hosted the Goddess Sanitary Pad Drive to provide feminine personal care products to underprivileged girls. Passionate about community and social development, Maruapula is also a United Nations Online volunteer as well as an activist at UNICEF Pacific’s Youth Media. She was a fellow at the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper in 2014.

9. REFILWE LEDWABA from SOUTH AFRICA
South African pilot, social entrepreneur and academic Refilwe Ledwaba set the record in 2005 by becoming the first black woman to earn a helicopter pilot license in South Africa, and the first black person to fly operationally for the South African Police Service. She also founded the non-profit/public benefit organization, Southern African Women in Aviation and Aerospace (SAWIA) in 2009 to provide a platform for young women in the SADC region aspiring for a career in aviation to access information, mentorship and financial support.

The organization has the Girl Fly Programme in Africa, which hosts an annual camp in January for 150 high school learners as well as educational programmes for both primary and high school girl learners, with an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM education), focusing on aviation and space technology. Ledwaba completed her BSc degree in biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Cape Town as well as her postgraduate diploma in business administration at UCT’S Graduate School of Business. She was included in the ranking for Young People in International Affairs Top 35 Africans under 35 in 2014 and was the winner of the South African Youth Development Agency Awards in 2012.

10. SENAI WONDERUFAEL from ETHIOPIA
Senai Wonderufael is a 28-year old entrepreneur from Addis Ababa who founded Feed Green Ethiopia, which is a spice and coffee production company. While employed at Ethiopian Airlines, he noticed that there was a demand from the Ethiopian diaspora for spices such as Shilo and Berbere and for traditional Ethiopian coffee.

His company opened its doors in 2012, exporting Ethiopian produce to diaspora communities mainly in the US and Europe. It has since expanded to new markets across Africa, and is fully staffed by women as its way of providing job opportunities for women who are often excluded from the job market. Wonderufael is motivated by seeing development and poverty eradication in his home country.

Identifying African entrepreneurs below the age of 35 who are building thriving million-dollar businesses is not as difficult as it used to be. There is an incredible wave of entrepreneurship transforming economies on the continent and young Africans are increasingly catching the entrepreneurial bug, creating remarkable businesses that are solving critical socio-economic problems, while creating job opportunities and building considerable wealth. And you should take notice.

The people featured on this list are building remarkable companies in food manufacturing, engineering, technology, hospitality, and other industries. They are incredibly motivated, pan-African in their thinking and ultimately nurse global ambitions.

Meet 31 of Africa’s most promising and inspiring young entrepreneurs- the continent’s brightest stars and the harbingers of tomorrow’s prosperity.

Simbarashe Mhuriro, Zimbabwean
Founder, Oxygen Africa Limited
31-year-old Simbarashe Mhuriro founded Oxygen Africa in 2009 as an investment advisory company to help facilitate foreign investors in Zimbabwe. In 2013, Oxygen Africa partnered with Swiss-based Meeco Group, a renewable energy company, to establish Oursun Energy Zimbabwe – a joint venture Independent Power Producer that specializes in the development, building, owning, and operating of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) energy projects in Zimbabwe. The partnership ended last year. However, Oxygen Africa has raised $7 million and is currently developing two 5MW grid-connected solar plants in Zimbabwe.

Ifeanyi Aniagoh, Nigerian
Founder, ifeadinmesi
Ifeanyi Aniagoh, 34, is the founder of ifeadinmesi - the first pan-igbo blog in the Nigeria. The young entrepreneur and youth advocate was last year nominated for the africa future awards. A philanthropist with vision who had propelled youths in his community to a greater achievements. He also owned nekaa, an agro based e-farm platform. This innovation has been hailed as first of its kind in Nigeria where the dwindling economy had forced the government to try diversifying. His contribution and pedigree has led to him being appointed as the senior special assistance on social media to the government in his state due to his positive stunts in social media. It goes without saying, he is a young African with many attributes

Ntombenhle Khathwane, Swazi
Founder, AfroBotanics
Swazi-born entrepreneur Ntombenhle Khathwane, 32, is the founder of AfroBotanics. AfroBotanics, which Khathwane established in 2010, is a Johannesburg-based company that manufactures premium haircare products using African botanical oils and other natural products and formulas to care for the hair and limit damage as to the barest minimum.

Olatorera Oniru, Nigerian
Founder, Dress Me Outlet
Olatorera Oniru, 28, is the founder of Dressmeoutlet.com – a Nigerian e-tailer of fashion products, health & beauty products and home-goods. Dressmeoutlet stocks more than 1,000 products from premium designers globally. Dressmeoutlet ships worldwide and currently has customers in different states across Nigeria, Uganda and the United States of America. The company now employs more than 20 full-time employees and has funding offers from notable investors including Nigerian investor Tony Elumelu.

Bonolo Ramokhele, South African
CEO, LeoFortis Group
Ramokhele, 29, is a co-founder of LeoFortis Group, an investment holding company with investments spanning commodity trading, energy, telecommunications, engineering, and mining with a presence in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and South Sudan.

Thato Kgatlhanye & Rea Ngwane, South African
Founders, Repurpose School Bags
South African entrepreneurs Kgatlhanye and Ngwane, both 23, co-founded Repurpose School bags. Repurpose collects and recycles plastic waste into school bags for poor South African students. The plastic bags feature a solar panel in the flap which get charged when the students walk to and from school. These charged solar panels help to provide lighting at night to the students to study. Rea Ngwane has since left Repurpose.

Lee Grant, South African
Founder, Leegra
Lee Grant, 32, is the founder of Leegra, a South African field marketing and promotions company engaged in sales, merchandising, promotions, product development and strategy. His company services a diverse range of blue-chip clients and multinationals from banking and insurance to fast-moving consumer goods and healthcare.

Samuel Malinga, Ugandan
The 26 year-old Ugandan agricultural engineer won the Tony Elumelu Prize for Business at the 2015 Future Africa Awards. His company, Sanitation Africa, has developed a full-cycle sanitation system that starts with a local, low-cost yet hygienic modular latrine and ends with the conversion of sludge into cooking briquettes and agricultural manure.

Vanessa Zommi, Cameroonian
Founder, Emerald Moringa Tea
When her mother was diagnosed of diabetes, Zommi, 21, set out to find alternative treatments to keep her mother healthy. She soon discovered the medicinal moringa oleifera tree which grew in her region, and discovered that the moringa leaves could reduce blood sugar levels to treat diabetes among other medicinal qualities. She partnered with moringa farmers who supplied her with the leaves and processed the leaves into moringa tea which she put into tea bags. Emerald Moringa, the company she founded, sells this tea across Cameroon.

Neo Ramaphakela, South African
CEO, Seriti sa Bosotho
Ramaphakela, 32, is the founder of Seriti sa Basotho, a fast-growing construction company. He began the company in 2011 as a gate-making company but grew it over the last few years into a general facility management firm in South Africa. Seriti Sa Basotho has built several houses in South African townships and also handles painting, plumbing, paving, roofing, plastering, ceiling and renovations.

Mutoba Ngoma, Zambian
Founder, Sanitation Africa
Founder, Tapera Bio Industries
After studying aeronautical engineering in the United Kingdom, Ngoma, a 31 year-old Zambian entrepreneur returned home to seek his fortune in the renewable energy business. He started Tapera Bio Industries Limited in 2009, a business which is focused on the production and promotion of biodiesel fuel and derivatives of vegetable oils. The company also processes vegetable oils into natural soaps, washing paste and organic shampoo.

Hilda Moraa, Kenyan
Co-founder, Weza Tele
Moraa, 27, is the founder of Weza Tele, a Kenyan fintech startup that provides a number of value added mobility solutions in commerce, supply chain, distribution and mobile payment integration. In May 2015 Afb, a Ghanaian financial services group, acquired the company for $1.7 million.

Eugene Mbugua, Kenyan
Founder, Young Rich TV
The 25-year-old Kenyan is the founder of one of Kenya’s most successful television production companies. His company, Young Rich Television Limited, produces two of Kenya’s most popular TV programmes – ‘Young Rich’ – a weekly show that profiles young, successful Kenyan entrepreneurs, and ‘Get In The Kitchen’- an extremely popular cooking show. Both shows have aired for 9 and 4 seasons respectively, command viewership in the millions, and have sponsorship from several blue-chip companies in Kenya. Mbugua also owns My Yearbook Limited, a company that produces yearbooks and publications for companies, schools and governments. A real-estate company he owns is also developing a 188-unit hostel project to provide housing for students of Kenya’s Egerton University.

Jamie Pujara, Kenyan
Founder, BuyRentKenya
Pujara, a 33 year-old Kenyan entrepreneur is the founder of BuyRentKenya, one of Kenya’s most popular property listing sites. In 2015, South African online media firm One Africa Media acquired a stake in the company. The site, which Pujara founded in 2012, reports 150,000 visitors every month and has more than 15,000 listings of residential and commercial properties.

Tyrone Moodley, South African
CEO, Midbrook Lane (Pty) Ltd
Moodley, 30, is the CEO of Midbrook Lane (Pty) Ltd, a private investment firm. The Johannesburg-based firm typically invests in 7 to 12 private and publicly listed companies at a time with the aim of holding the investments over a minimum period of 10 years. Moodley also serves as a non-executive director of Conduit Capital, a JSE-listed investment company, making him one of the youngest serving board members of a company listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

Rachel Sibande, Malawian
Founder, mHub
30-year-old Sibande of Malawi is the founder of her country’s first technology hub. mHub, which she launched in November 2013, is an incubator for technology startups with a special focus on building young technology entrepreneurs through training, skills development and mentorship.

Nadeem Juma, Tanzanian
Co-founder, AIM Group
In 2004, and at the age of 19, Tanzanian serial entrepreneur Nadeem Juma founded Efulusi Africa, a software development company that develops custom software with a focus on mobile finance apps and aggregation. Efulusi is credited for developing and deploying Tanzania’s first mobile banking platform. In 2014, Juma, now 31, founded AIM Group, a leading digital agency in the East African country. AIM Group now has 25 employees and has some of Tanzania’s most prominent brands as clients.

Mike Chilewe Jr, Malawian
Owner, Star Radio Malawi
Chilewe is the son of one of Malawi’s most prominent and successful businessmen, Mike Chilewe. But the younger Mike is charting his own path and cutting his teeth as a media entrepreneur. In 2015, Chilewe Jr, now 26, acquired Star Radio Malawi, a floundering private radio station based in Lilongwe. With the help of media consultants and experts, he has been restructuring the station and is gradually building Star to become one of Malawi’s most successful radio stations.

Kelvin Nyame, Rashad Seini and Kofi Amuasi, Ghanaians
Co-founders, MeQasa
MeQasa, one of Ghana’s leading online real estate classifieds businesses, was founded in 2013 by Ghanaian entrepreneurs, Kelvin Nyame, Rashad Seini and Kofi Amuasi, who are all graduates of the tech entrepreneurship training program at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) based in Accra, Ghana. MeQasa provides a free service that helps brokers, landlords and other real estate industry professionals to conduct business efficiently online, while simplifying the search experience for prospective tenants and buyers. Last October, MeQasa secured a $500,000 investment from Frontier Digital Ventures, a global VC firm headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ogunlana Olumide & Chukwuwezam Obanor, Nigerians
Founders, PrepClass
Olumide and Obanor, both 24, are the founders of Prepclass- a Nigerian academic solutions provider offering online test prep software, full-length tests, and a Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) experience similar to that of Nigerian university pre-entry exams. PrepClass also provides personalized home tutors in Lagos, Nigeria, skilled at meeting individual academic needs. The company has been funded by CRE Venture Capital and the Venture Garden Group.

Kasope Ladipo-Ajai, Nigerian
Founder, OmoAlata
Ladipo-Ajai, 29, is a co-founder of OmoAlata – a Nigerian brand that processes and packages local Nigerian spices and peppers. Its flagship OmoAlata Peppermix which is a blend of fresh organic tomatoes, onions and peppers has been favorably received in the Nigerian market. Kasope Ladipo-Ajai was the winner of the 2015 She Leads Africa Pitch Competition.

Yasmine El Baggari, Moroccan
Founder, Voyaj
22 year-old Moroccan entrepreneur Yasmine El Baggari is the founder of Voyaj, an online platform that matches hosts and travelers who want to share an authentic, local experience. Voyaj, still in beta, allows members to create a profile that includes a video post where they describe their interests and what they have to offer during a journey.

Aisha Ayensu, Ghanaian
CEO, Christie Brown
Aisha Ayensu, 30, is the founder and Head Designer of Christie Brown, an internationally acclaimed luxury women’s fashion label that subtly infuses modernism into carefully selected traditional African fabrics to create awe-inspiring dresses with a transcontinental finish.

Trushar Khetia, Kenyan
Founder, Tria Group & Society Stores
Khetia, 29, is the founder of Tria Group, a Kenyan outdoor transit-advertising firm that uses public transit vehicles to market leading consumer goods in Kenya. He is also the founder of Society Stores, a fast-growing Kenyan retail chain with 5 outlets.

Anda Maqanda, South African
Founder, AM Group
29-year-old Maqanda owns the AM Group – a provider of engineering solutions, focusing mainly on Engineering Consulting, Design and Construction of Electrical Overhead Power Lines, Renewable Energy, Automation and Research and Development.

Abiola Olaniran, Nigerian
Founder, Gamsole
Olaniran, 27, is the founder and CEO of Gamsole, a Nigerian gaming company, Olaniran founded the company in 2012, and it has venture backing from 88mph, a Kenyan seed fund. The company’s games now have more than 9 million downloads both locally and internationally on the Windows Phone store.

Clarisse Iribagize, Rwandan
Founder, HeHe Ltd
Iribagize, 27, runs Kigali-based mobile technology company HeHe Limited, which builds custom mobile applications for businesses, provides 24/7 online and offline support and cloud storage services. Iribagize founded the company in 2010 after winning a $50,000 grant from Inspire Africa, a Rwandan TV entrepreneurial contest. Iribagize’s clientele includes a number of government agencies in Rwanda.

Uncollected trash is a very big problem in developing regions of the world, especially Africa. According to a World Bank Urban Development Series report, Africa currently produces just about 70 million tons of waste every year. With its rapid urbanization and growing economies, waste production in Africa will exceed 160 million tons by the year 2025.

Waste is a problem because it causes pollution, disease and environmental crisis when it’s not properly disposed. The good news is, most of the waste produced in Africa can be recycled and reused to create new products.

Sadly, only about 10 percent of the waste generated every day in Africa is collected. The rest usually ends up in illegal dump sites, gutters and drainages in Africa’s cities.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to five amazing African entrepreneurs who are building successful businesses in the waste recycling business. They are the young men and women who are creating jobs, building wealth and saving Africa’s natural environment. Let’s meet them…

1. Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola – Wecyclers, Nigeria

Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city of over 16 million people, produces up to 10,000 metric tons of waste every day. And much of this waste is not collected. This uncollected waste leads to clogged waterways and unsightly heaps of trash that often line the streets.

Bilikiss is the CEO and co-founder of Wecyclers, a for-profit social enterprise working to help communities reclaim their neighborhoods from unmanaged waste. Founded in 2012, Wecyclers uses low-cost cargo bicycles called “wecycles” to provide convenient recycling services to households in Lagos by using an SMS-based incentives system.

Bilikiss developed the business idea as an MBA student in the USA, after a five-year career as a corporate software engineer at the IBM Corporation. She left her corporate job and decided to focus on the waste business.

Bilikiss sees huge potential in this sector, with Nigeria’s recycling plants hungry for recycled waste materials due to local and foreign demand for end products.

Her work with waste in Nigeria has attracted quite a lot of local and global attention. She has been featured on CNN and The Huffington Post among others. She is also a Fellow of the Echoing Green Foundation and a 2013 Laureate of the Cartier Women’s Initiative.

Bilikiss is a graduate of Fisk University, Vanderbilt University, and MIT’s Sloan School of Management in the USA. She is now based in Lagos full time.

2. Thato Kgatlhanye & Rea Ngwane – Repurpose School bags, South Africa

Thato and Rea are just 21 and 22 years old respectively. They both founded Repurpose School bags as a green initiative to help hundreds of school children in their local community in South Africa.

Their idea provides recycled and low-cost school bags with an interesting twist.

Their young business collects and recycles plastic waste into school bags for local disadvantaged students. But that’s not just it. These “upcycled” plastic bags have a solar panel in the flap, which charges as the children walk to and back from school. The bags also have strips of reflective material, an added safety design to make the children more visible to traffic in the early hours.

The charged solar panels are used to provide lighting at night. Students can use this light to do their homework and study instead of using candles. This helps students to do more school work and saves money which could have been spent on candles.

Thato and Rea have partnered with local individuals and organisations that are willing to cover the cost of the bags on behalf of the students. Depending on their donation, these so-called “giving partners” are typically matched to a class, a grade or a school.

This simple but highly effective idea has attracted quite a lot of attention. Thato and Rea have been featured on several local and international media. In 2014, they were the first runner-up at the Anzisha Prize, a pan-African award celebrating entrepreneurs aged 15-22 who have come up with innovative ways to solve problems in their communities.

3. Andrew Mupuya – YELI, Uganda

Andrew Mupuya was just 16 years old when he founded YELI, Uganda’s first paper bag production company. He got the idea to start this business in 2008, when the Ugandan government put a ban on the use of plastic bags in order to reduce the environmental damage it was causing.

He was still in secondary school at the time and both of his parents had lost their jobs. He didn’t have any capital. To start the paper production business on a small scale, Andrew figured out he needed about 36,000 Ugandan shillings ($14). He raised $11 from selling 70 kilos of used plastic bottles and then borrowed the remaining $3 from his school teacher.

While gathering capital, Andrew visited local shops, kiosks and businesses to find out if there was any real demand for paper bags. The potential was, and still remains, huge. He also didn’t know how to make paper bags. So, he got on the internet and watched videos. That’s how he learned to make paper bags.

Today, the business has grown quite dramatically. Andrew’s paper bag company now employs over 20 people and produces more than 20,000 paper bags every week. All the bags are produced by hand as Andrew cannot yet afford a machine.

His long list of clients includes restaurants, retail stores, supermarkets, medical centers, as well as multinational companies like Samsung. His company, YELI, has made about 1,000 niche bags for the local stores of the electronics company.‎

In 2012, Andrew won the $30,000 Anzisha Prize, a major award given to young African entrepreneurial leaders who take the initiative to address critical needs in their communities. He has also been featured on CNN, Forbes and How We Made It In Africa.

4. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu – soleRebels, Ethiopia

Bethlehem grew up in Zenabwork, a poor village in the suburbs of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Today, she’s the founder and owner of soleRebels, the most popular and fastest-growing African footwear brand in the world!

SoleRebels’ footwear is unique because it is 100 percent made by hand using locally-sourced and recycled materials like old car tyres, discarded clothes and hand-loomed organic fabrics. She uses experienced and highly-skilled local craftsmen to transform these recycled products into world-class footwear products.

Her eco-friendly brand of footwear now sells in more than 50 countries around the world, including the USA, Canada, Japan and Switzerland.

A few years ago, soleRebels became the first footwear company in the world to be certified by the World Fair Trade Organisation. By using local craftsmen, Bethlehem has built a global brand and a hugely successful business that has created jobs and improved livelihoods in her local community.

Bethlehem started SoleRebels in 2004 with less than $10,000 in capital she raised from family and friends. Today, the company has more than 100 employees and nearly 200 local raw material suppliers, and has opened several standalone retail outlets in North America, Europe and Asia.

Bethlehem was selected as the Young Global Leader of the Year 2011 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and was a winner at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship in the same year. Bethlehem and her inspiring success story with SoleRebels have been featured several times on Forbes, the BBC and CNN.

5. Lorna Rutto – EcoPost, Kenya

Lorna Rutto left her bank job in 2009 to start EcoPost, one of Kenya’s biggest plastic recycling businesses. Her business recycles plastic waste, which is collected from dumpsites and garbage cans across Nairobi, to manufacture fencing posts. These posts, which are used to fence houses and forest reserves, are fast becoming a preferred alternative to timber.

So far, Lorna’s innovative business has produced over 10,000 fencing posts, created more than 500 jobs, and generated more than $150,000 in yearly revenues. Better still, her plastic recycling idea has saved over 250 acres of forests which would have been destroyed to produce wood for building and construction needs in Kenya.

She recently upgraded to a larger and better-equipped factory compared to the one in the video below. Lorna’s business has also attracted a lot of worthy attention. She has won several awards including the Sub-Saharan Africa Cartier Laureate, the Bid Network Nature Challenge Award, the SEED Award and the Enablis Business Award.

Credited to John-Paul Iwuoha

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