Thursday, August 3, 2017

7 Young And Successful African Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2017

By David Cox


The stars of African entrepreneurship seem to be shinning brighter by the day. Young talents are emerging to build brands that change the business landscape and the lives of people in an unimaginable way. It is surprising and encouraging when you think of the age of these inventive business personalities. Here is a list of successful African entrepreneurs who are causing ripples despite their age.

Adeniyi Makanjuola has a deceptive demeanor that you would miss him easily in a crowd. However, he is one of the most promising business minds in Africa. The Nigerian is making noticeable inroads in the financial sector, oil and gas, energy and environmental utility, among others in Nigeria, allowing him to compete in a league that was a preserve of foreign companies. This has also seen him spread his investment wings beyond other African countries to Europe and Middle East.

From shining as a beauty queen and serenading the continent with her beautiful music, Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe is leading the way in artistic entrepreneurship. She is a self styled lady running the brand Molacaho. Her specialization is imprinting of the afro-centric theme on furniture. She is now selling her wares to the international market. The brand is buoyed by the use of locally available materials.

Ndijeka Akuyuli Crosby is another Nigerian who has caught the attention of Africa and the entire world. She dominates with her love for art and paintings. Her work captures the mind of the world because it eclectically combines photo transfers, drawing, print making and collage. One of her most famous works was Drone which was originally valued at 300,000 dollars but eventually sold at 1.1 million dollars in 2012.

The online market was difficult to sell in Africa until Fatoumata Ba took charge of Jumia Ivory Coast as a marketing manager. With the assistance of Africa Internet Group, she grew the brand by reaps and bounds. This saw her transferred to Nigeria with the same mandate where the success was monumental. At a young age of 29, she remains a trailblazer for shortening what was presumed to take decades before it was achieved.

What were you doing at 25 years? Rupert Bryan was already a millionaire, having co-founded ISP-Web Africa at just 14 years in South Africa. He is credited with having a vision and following it until a company that was built from scratch hit a turnover of R130 million each year. The company is growing bigger and bigger with incredible web solutions.

Ludwick Marishane is the chief executive at DryBath Investor. He has been termed as a prodigy for inventing the DryBath at the tender age of 17. The Global Champion of Global Students Entrepreneurs Award rated him as the top entrepreneur because of his brilliant ideas. When asked about his take on entrepreneurship, his response was that no one should need encouragement to make it as an entrepreneur.

Patrick E. Ngowi has been described as an entrepreneur grounded on unique intellect, industry and the search for excellence. His brand, Helvetic Group was founded with only 50 dollars and a big vision. He was 15 years of age when he conceptualized the company. The Tanzanian has even won a UN award for provision of sustainable solutions. The company, with partnerships in China, Europe and US, among other corners of the world is now worth over 8 million dollars.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment