The Entrepreneurship Education in Africa (EEA) Summit, hosted annually by Anzisha, returned to Johannesburg on 6 August 2025 with a clear message: showing up for young entrepreneurs means more than attending an event—it means being consistently engaged in the conversations, collaborations, and investments that will shape the continent’s economic future.

Why We Do This Every Year
The EEA Summit is more than a gathering—it’s a checkpoint and a catalyst. It’s a working platform to identify gaps, share tested models, and co-create new approaches that equip Africa’s youth to start and grow job-creating businesses. Each year, Anzisha brings the ecosystem together to:

1. Validate what works in entrepreneurship education.
2. Expose gaps in policy, funding, and skills training.
3. Co-create solutions that can be tested and scaled.
4. Empower young entrepreneurs to lead the conversation about their own futures.

It’s designed to convene educators, policymakers, investors, and entrepreneur support organisations (ESOs) to address the realities facing very young entrepreneurs (VYEs).

Because building Africa’s future isn’t a spectator sport—it’s a shared responsibility.

Combined Impact
This year’s sessions tackled everything from leadership and curriculum design to funding ecosystems and policy frameworks—creating full-circle ecosystem readiness. Our featured speakers from across the continent included:

• Lindiwe Mdaki (Afrika Tikkun): Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship—cultivating the mindset of young job creators through social entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Emily Fiagbedzi & Owusua Amoo-Acheampong (MEST Africa): Designing immersive, holistic entrepreneurial curricula—because classroom entrepreneurship training needs real-world grit.
• Matebe Chisiza & Nasri Adam (AVPA): Unlocking capital via hybrid funding models—investment plus capacity building for youth innovators.
• Richard Yeboah & Eelke Jansen (MDF): Using the DISC personality framework to help young leaders understand and maximise their strengths.
• Rohin Onyango & Darartu Marga (Inkomoko): Charting the path “From Scholar to Entrepreneur”—how contextualised training and advisory services result in market-ready solutions.
• Corinne Lalla (Genesis Analytics) & Razaan Abnowf (Anzisha): Revealing data-backed insights on how ESOs and educators shape the next generation of entrepreneurs.
• Lincoln Njogu & Mike Perry (i4Policy): Collaborating on entrepreneurship policy that adapts to real challenges on the ground.

Unpacking the conversations

Cleon Ngoya & Lilian Wanjiku – Somo Africa | “Funding the Future”
Cleon and Lilian unpacked Somo Africa’s innovative financing model, designed for entrepreneurs who don’t fit into the traditional banking system:

• Alternative credit scoring that assesses a founder’s viability using social and business metrics, not just collateral.
• Flexible, low-interest loans with grace periods and group guarantees, tailored for youth-led businesses.
• DigiKua platform—a mobile-first tool via SMS and WhatsApp that helps founders track finances and qualify for funding.
• Physical support infrastructure, like shared production facilities (Tengeneza) and retail access through Somo Soko.

Key takeaway: Financing for youth must be contextual—meeting entrepreneurs where they are, in language, tools, and terms that work for them. Somo’s model, aligned with Anzisha’s mission, bridges the gap between learning entrepreneurship and sustaining a viable business.

Vangile Makwakwa – “Decode Your Financial DNA”
Vangile reframed financial literacy as a deeply personal, often emotional process. Introducing the idea of ancestral money trauma, she explained how inherited beliefs, family money stories, and cultural histories silently shape financial decision-making.

• Money habits are learned by observing parental behaviours, not just through formal education.
• Many financial “mistakes” are actually survival responses triggered by early experiences.
• Healing financial legacies requires identifying emotional triggers, understanding money archetypes, and reframing one’s relationship with money.

Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship education should include emotional and behavioural finance—because a founder’s ability to manage money under pressure can make or break a business.

Audrey Simbiso Chidawanyika – AfriLabs | “Designing Africa’s Digital Destiny”
Representing AfriLabs, a network of over 400 innovation hubs across Africa, Audrey challenged the ecosystem to ensure digital transformation is inclusive and intentional.

• Innovation hubs must go beyond co-working to deliver skills, investment readiness, and policy advocacy.
• Digital inequality grows without deliberate strategies for youth, women, and rural entrepreneurs.
• Policymakers, educators, and tech leaders need to collaborate to ensure young Africans are producers in the digital economy, not just consumers.

Key takeaway: Digital readiness must be integrated into entrepreneurship education—tech is no longer optional for competitiveness.

Abed Tau – My Dough | “How to Succeed in a Startup”
Drawing on his journey as a serial entrepreneur and CEO of My Dough, which supports over 2,000 small businesses, Abed shared the mindset and strategies that sustain long-term growth.

• Keep your “why” at the centre to navigate uncertainty.
• Build teams for culture fit first, technical skill second.
• Leverage the internet as a tool for continuous learning, market intelligence, and mentorship connections.

Key takeaway: With the right mentorship, learning mindset, and digital tools, young entrepreneurs can accelerate growth and avoid common startup pitfalls—echoing Anzisha’s approach to nurturing VYEs.

Why the Ecosystem Matters Beyond the Summit
When the ecosystem leans in—not just to listen, but to act—young entrepreneurs gain a real chance to succeed. Financing can be redesigned to reflect youth realities, education can embed the skills needed to run a business, and policy can open pathways instead of blocking them. This is the long game Anzisha is committed to: equipping very young Africans with the tools, networks, and opportunities to build scalable businesses, create jobs, and shape the continent’s economic future.

About Anzisha
Anzisha, a partnership between African Leadership Academy and the Mastercard Foundation, has been championing very young entrepreneurs since 2011. Through fellowships, training, and community-building, Anzisha equips young Africans with the skills, networks, and confidence to build scalable, job-creating businesses. The EEA Summit is its annual rallying call: a reminder that the future will be built by the bold—and supported by an ecosystem that refuses to sit on the sidelines.

For more information
For enquiries about the EEA Summit or to become a session partner at our next event, please email Lynn Brown at communities[at]anzisha.org