Title: Africa's Best under 30s Entreprenuers
1Africas Best
10 Under 30 Entrepreneurs
2Oluwaseun Osewa, 30, Nigeria
- At the age of 23 he started Nairaland.com which
has become the most popular website in Nigeria - Nairaland.com has more than 1 million registered
users - It is the most visited website in Africa as per
Alexa rankings - In 2003 he attempted to start a web hosting
business but failed - Undaunted he opened Nairaland.com in the year
2005 - His approach was to try and provide solution to
something you need, or want to be solved - Nairaland.com was started to address issues in
Nigeria - It was to be a general purpose forum with focus
on issues of interest to Nigerians - Nairaland.com generates revenue through its ad
inventory
3Ola Orekunrin, 27, Nigeria
- At the age of 21 Orekunrin graduated from the
University of York as a qualified doctor - She was awarded Japanese Government Scholarship
and moved to Japan to conduct research - After coming back to Europe she decided to work
for improving healthcare in Nigeria and Africa - It was the death of her sister due to anaemia
which prompted her to take this decision - She started Flying Doctors Service and also
consults government and private agencies on
aesthetic and emergency medicine - Flying Doctors is west Africas first indigenous
air ambulance - It offers national and international evacuation
services - They have 4 aircrafts strategically located at 4
major airports in Nigeria - They also provide health and safety audit
services, clinic staffing, telemedicine, and
first aid training
4Jonathan Liebmann , 28, South Africa
- Liebmann is the Managing Director of Propertuity,
a South African real estate development company - He had started 5 businesses by the age of 24 and
Propertuity was the most successful one - Liebmann found Propertuity in 2007 with which he
launched property investments - Liebmann studied business and accounting from
Monash University - But according to him bulk of education came from
hands-on experience and entrepreneurship - Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg was his
brainchild - Maboneng is a vibrant urban community with Art
galleries, Art museums retails space and offices - He thinks entrepreneurs need unrealistic
optimism, perseverance, design and lifestyle
exposure, and passion to do what he does - Practice what you preach, Live the vision, is
his advice to all budding entrepreneurs
5Lorna Rutto , 28, Kenya
- Lorna after graduating in commerce and accounting
started a career in banking - In 2009 she resigned her banking job and pursued
her interest in environmental science - She along with Charles Kalama, a biochemical
engineer, started small business called EcoPost - To start with it was a small plastic recycling
business - Plastic waste collected across Nairobi was used
to manufacture durable and environmental friendly
fencing posts and sign posts - Some of the products are used for building and
construction purposes - Lorna saw opportunity where others saw trash
- She won numerous awards like 2009 Enablis
Business Award, 2010 SEED Award, and 2010 Bid
Network Nature Challenge Award
6Evans Wadongo , 27, Kenya
- This Kenyan engineer is the Chairman of
Sustainable Development For All-Kenya
(SDFA-Kenya) - As a child he grew up in rural Kenya and with his
four brothers studied using a kerosene lamp - His eyesight was permanently damaged due to
poisonous gas emitted by kerosene lamp - This experience lead to his development of
MwangaBora solar lamp - MwangaBora was first African designed and
produced lamp and was built from 50 recycled
material - He featured on Forbes and CNN as one of Africas
Best Young Entrepreneurs - In 2011, Evans launched Just One Lamp, a campaign
to raise funding and awareness for MwangaBora
lamps - In 2012 he received the African International
Achievers Award
7Sizwe Nzima, 21, South Africa
- Sizwe Nzima graduated from Raymond Ackerman
Academy of Entrepreneurial Development - He aspires to eliminate the problem of queuing at
clinics and hospitals with his venture Iyeza
Express - Iyeza Express is a business where chronic
medication is transported using cycles from local
clinics to doorsteps of residents - This solution seems to be solving problem by
saving time and money for his clients - This business has managed to employ many young
men - The only skills requirement here are ability to
ride bicycle and to know the town well - Sizwe sees entrepreneurship as a way to combat
social issues in South Africa
8Andrew Mupuya, 21, Uganda
- It was in the year 2008, at the age of 16 when
Mupuya decided to launch his company - It was a paper bag production company and was a
result of ban on plastic bags by government - Mupuya was only in secondary school when he
decided to take up this challenge - He realized a capital of 36000 Ugandan shillings
were needed and it was raised selling used
plastic bottles and borrowing from school teacher - With just 14 (36,000 shillings) he started his
entrepreneurial journey - At the age of 21, he is the owner of Youth
Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI) - YELI was the first registered company to make
paper bags - He employs 16 people and have 72 clients
9Farai Gundan, NA, Zimbabwe
- Farai is the co-founder of FaraiMedia.com and
AfricanTripDeals - FaraiMedia is an online and mobile advertising
platform focused on Africa - She completed her MBA from The School of Business
Industry at Florida Agricultural Mechanical
University - She guest writes for Forbes and is a leading
expert on African women in Media and Technology - AfricanTripDeals is an end-to-end online
marketing and reservation system for African
hotel, travel tourism industry - She is a producer and a lead anchor of womens
talk show Point Of View and AfroHits Top 10
for Afrotainment Television Channel - Dont be afraid to raise your hand and ask. Let
your presence be known. is her advice to
business women from Africa
10Mark Kaigwa, 25, Kenya
- Mark Kaigwa is much travelled and recognized IT
guru - He describes himself as a consultant, strategist,
and speaker with a liking for solving problems
and applying ideas - He is the co-founder and partner of Afrinnovator
- Afrinnovator is a venture to put Africa on the
map by publishing about African innovation,
technology, and start-ups - Kaigwa is also a partner at African Digital Art
which is the leading resource for creative
design, photography and animation from Africa - Afrinnovator is selected by CNN as one of the Top
African Voices to follow - In 2007 he led creative direction of video game
for Warner Brothers titled Pamoja Mtaani - Also an Actor and director of live action films
- He is the African Ambassador for the Sandbox
Network
11Ashley Uys, 30, South Africa
- Uys completed his B.Sc honours degree in
Biotechnology and a MAP certificate from Wits
University - Uys started Real World Diagnostics to develop
products which are affordable for people who need
them - Reliable and affordable medical kit is one way to
a more promising and healthy future in Africa - He is recognised and appreciated for his efforts
in the field of healthcare - He won the Breweries Innovation Award and was
selected among Africas Best Young Entrepreneurs
by Forbes - Even today he continues to research on ways to
develop new products - Uys is a great believer of giving back to the
society - Along with Real World Diagnostics, he is also the
Managing Director of Medical Diagnostech and
Oculus ID
12Mara Foundations Ambition
- We enable, inspire and empower ambitious
entrepreneurs in Africa. With the support of our
Mara Mentors we will
13- THANK YOU
- Website mentor.mara.com
- App iTunes, Blackberry, Android, and Nokia.
- Customer Support support_at_mentor.mara.com
Mara Foundation is supported by a number of
partners, including