$75,000 Anzisha Prize to Identify Africa’s Young Entrepreneurial Leaders
0Johannesburg, South Africa, August 6, 2012 – On 29th August 2012, African Leadership Academy (ALA) and The MasterCard Foundation will announce the winners of the 2012 Anzisha Prize – a premier award for Africa’s young entrepreneurs. The Prize – now in its second year – identifies exceptional young people between the ages 16 to 22, who have implemented innovative solutions to challenges and captured opportunities in their communities. Interest in Anzisha continues to grow, with 270 young entrepreneurs from 23 countries applying this year. Of that pool, thirteen finalists will arrive on ALA’s campus, to participate in workshops, present their projects to a panel of judges, and become Anzisha Fellows. These Anzisha Finalists will share $75,000 in prizes to propel their entrepreneurial ventures.
| WHAT: | Announcement of Anzisha Prize winners |
| WHEN: | 29th August 2012; 5:30 pm |
| WHERE: | The Venue Green Park, Morningside, Johannesburg |
| WHY: | The goal of the Anzisha Prize is to recognize entrepreneurial leadership among African youth, underscoring their ability to shape the continent. There are currently about 200 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Africa. The growing youth population has the potential to transform the economic climate of the continent. The Anzisha Prize identifies and mobilizes talented young entrepreneurs in Africa whose businesses and social ventures have a positive impact in their communities. |
| WHO: | Anzisha Prize finalists, judges, and representatives of ALA and The MasterCard Foundation will be available for media interviews after the ceremony. Profiles of judges and finalists will be released on August 20th 2012. |
Last year’s finalists launched enterprises including a software system for reporting micro-corruption, micro-credit services for women in a refugee settlement, to a purified bottled water business. Cumulatively, last year’s eight Anzisha Prize finalists won eight international awards, including Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year and the Google Zeitgeist Global Brightest Young Mind. This year’s Anzisha finalists, selected from an initial pool of young entrepreneurs that grew 50% over last year’s, promise to be no less remarkable. For more information, visit http://anzishaprize.org.
About The Anzisha Prize
The Anzisha Prize takes its name from the Swahili word, meaning ‘initiative’. It is managed out of ALA’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which was established through a $1.6 million multi-year partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. The Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership will further develop the African Leadership Academy’s entrepreneurship curriculum, and will promote entrepreneurial leadership across Africa with initiatives like the Anzisha Prize.
