The
5th Anzisha Prize application phase is now open, and the search is on
to find Africa’s youngest, most exciting social and business
entrepreneurs under 22 years of age. Africa is the world’s youngest
continent, with over 600m people under the age of 25. The Anzisha Prize
is a growing social impact program entirely focused on accelerating the
entry of millions of young Africans into viable and exciting
entrepreneurship opportunities within high growth economic sectors.
The
impact and success of the program to date has encouraged co-hosts
African Leadership Academy and The MasterCard Foundation to extend their
collaboration for a further 5 years. The Anzish Prize will be a feature
of the entrepreneur landscape in Africa until 2020, and aggresively
expand its activities to not only encourage young entrepreneurs, but
strengthen and celebrate the ecosystem of organisations that develop
young African entrepreneurial talent in this age group. They call it the
#AnzishaEffect, and it is the power of stories about the very youngest
entrepreneurs among us to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.
Africa needs strong, innovative entrepreneurial young leaders to create
jobs, solve problems and drive our economies.
Our continent’s future will be determined by entrepreneurial leaders across all sectors.
“We
have already seen the #AnzishaEffect at work through the inspirational
stories and leadership of Anzisha Fellows like Laetitia Mukungu, Andrew
Mupuya and Thato Kgatlhanye. They are now globally recognized and
celebrated role models,” says Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The
MasterCard Foundation. “We’re excited about expanding our support of the
Anzisha Prize so that many more young entrepreneurs in Africa can make a
lasting impact in their communities and countries.”
Each
year, 12 finalists win a two-week trip to South Africa for a learning
experience of a lifetime at African Leadership Academy, and share over
$75,000 USD in cash funding. At a Gala Dinner, the grand prize winner is
announced and recieves $25,000 with which to grow their business. From
2015, Anzisha Fellows will be actively supported through the recently
launched Youth Entrepreneur Support Unit (YES-U), based at African
Leadership Academy, which is a collaboration with leading business
incubators on the continent. Mentorship, consulting services, community
gatherings and travel opportunities will now define the fellow
experience as they grow their business ventures. New programs will be
announced soon that focus on and invest into other areas of the youth
entrepreneur value chain.
Applications
close on April 15th, 2015, and nominations are encouraged. The Anzisha
Prize is one of the most accessible and inclusive pan-African
opportunities for youth from any background. Application forms and
information are available in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic, and
the Anzisha Prize Tour team will visit key hubs and engage local media
in every region. There are also over 25 country partner organisations
who are available to assist applicants in countries where the tour does
not reach. Both paper and electronic applications are accepted.
“There
are few programs with the reach and potential of the Anzisha Prize that
are so focused on this age group,” comments Josh Adler, Director for
the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership at African Leadership Academy,
and Manager of the Anzisha program, “This year, we will see the various
parts of the ecosystem we’ve been investing into since 2010 begin to
really work together for the benefit of Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs,
wherever they may be!”
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