Two Ugandan youth entrepreneurs, Jonathan Paul Katumba, 22 and Hamidu Biha, 22, missed the top three placements of the 2020 Anzisha Prize competition to Egypt, Madagascar and Sierra Leone who came in the first, second, and third places respectively.
Katamba and Biha were among the 20 finalists selected from an impressive initial pool of more than 1,000 shortlisted youth entrepreneurs from 30 African countries. And although they didn’t win the grand prizes, they each received USD$2,500 (roughly UGX9.4 million) and the opportunity to join a fellowship of 122 entrepreneurs who receive venture building support and mentorship. The money would be used to scale up and boost up their businesses.
Jonathan Paul Katumba founded Minute5 —an online grocery delivery service with a focus on fresh farm products. Minute5 sources fresh fruits, vegetables, and other produce from small scale farmers and then delivers to consumers and businesses. His business/startup was categorized under the Consumer products sector.
On the other hand, Hamidu Biha founded Biha Eco Venture —an innovative recycling company that uses poultry eggshells to make various eco-friendly products including eco-charcoal and eco-tiles. His business/startup was categorized under the Manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, the grand overall prize went to and Egyptian Entrepreneur, Alaa Moatamed, 21 who Co-founded Presto. Her winning business/startup is an automated delivery system that connects vendors with customers and suppliers. The platform provides a crowd-sourced network of delivery agents for small businesses. Presto has been successful since it launched in 2019 and serves 300 stores and merchants in two cities.
She was awarded a top cash prize of USD$25,000 (roughly UGX93.4 million).
The Anzisha Prize is premier award for Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs that scours the continent seeking to find entrepreneurial youth between the ages of 15 and 22, who have identified opportunities to better their communities. It has a partnership with African Leadership Academy (ALA) and the Mastercard Foundation to make all this happen.
The Anzisha Prize in the other hand also celebrates, and cultivates the next generation of young African entrepreneurial leaders. Since 2011, Anzisha Fellows have created over 2,000 jobs – 56% of which have been for young Africans under 25.
Applications for the 11th edition of the the Anzisha Prize open on February 15th 2021. To nominate young entrepreneurs, visit anzisha.org/nominate.
