Anzisha Prize Monthly Digest

February 2017 Edition

Warm greetings from Johannesburg,

We hope you had an eventful February. We sure did because Anzisha applications are now open and we have received more applications than ever before in our first two weeks. At this current point, we have received 300+ applications from a diverse pool of applicants spanning from corners of the African continent. We have also received a record number of applications from countries such as Niger, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco and Mozambique. As applications continue to remain open, we are currently on the road in Tunisia and Malawi and are scouting for young entrepreneurs in both countries through partnering with organizations which do similar work to us. Please also stay tuned for our referral campaign; this will be an opportunity for the organisation that reaches out to the most youth to win a cool prize!

We would also love to hear about the great work that you are doing so please continue to email us with updates on the work that you are doing and the impact that you are making across the continent.

With gratitude,
Anzisha Team

Anzisha Prize Applications Drive

How to help us find the next cohort of Anzisha Fellows

Spread the word with us on social media by reposting, retweeting and sharing our post. Click on the following links to connect to our social media sites; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Encourage young people in your community to apply through this link : Anzisha Prize Applications
Especially encourage young women to apply. We know young female entrepreneurs exist, we just need your help to find them.
Assist those who want to apply for the Anzisha Prize. Sometimes all they need is a little help.

Thought Leadership From the Team

Every month we share resources, reports, articles and various content that you may use within your various programs. Please see below content written by our team:

1. Incredible funding opportunities for young Africans: Getting a venture off the ground or growing an existing business as a young entrepreneur can be difficult: raising capital without a solid credit history or having valuable assets to use for security are a challenge. The good news is there are organisations that offer funding opportunities to help rising stars shine. We believe that these young people deserve funding. This blog highlights the various opportunities that are available for young African entrepreneurs. Read more…

2. Why Anzisha loves very young entrepreneurs: Have you every wondered why Anzisha targets such a young age group for it’s programming. We explain the reasoning in our latest blog post. Read more…

3. And across Africa we go for the 2017 Anzisha Prize Tour: Every year, when Anzisha Prize applications open, we hit the road to find Africa’s top youngest entrepreneurs during the Anzisha Prize Tour. The Anzisha Prize Tour helps us to find a diverse pool of applicants, through on the ground partnerships with organizations throughout Africa which also have a similar mission of reducing youth unemployment in Africa by encouraging entrepreneurship. Read on to learn how we chose where to go.Read more…

4. Paying yourself a salary as a small business owner: As a small business owner, you may have encountered difficulty in paying yourself a salary, or at the very least a steady and predictable salary. This is not an uncommon problem. Many struggle both with setting their salary at a particular level and with then consistently paying themselves that salary. Read on to learn our perspective.

Anzisha Prize Fellow Spotlight

First runner up for the 2016 Anzisha Prize, Souadou Fall’s business journey with E-Cover was highlighted in the African Business Journalhere. Congratulations on Souadou for the recognition of your growing company!

Congratulations to 2013 Anzisha Fellow Isaac Oboth, whose entrepreneurial story was covered in Africa-Me. Here is why Forbes thinks Isaac Oboth is one of Africa’s finest young entrepreneurs.

Youth Entrepreneurship Support Spotlight

mHub is Malawi’s first ever technology hub. An incubator for technology startups with a special focus on building young technology entrepreneurs through training, skills development and mentorship. mHub was founded in November 2013 by Rachel Sibande a young Malawian entrepreneur in the technology space. They also assisted in hosting an Anzisha workshop in Malawi on February 27 and also advocate for female entrepreneurs!

Opportunities for Youth

Please see below a list of useful opportunities that you can share with the young people that you work with :

1. BMCE African Entrepreneurship Award
Looking for mentorship to launch or grow your business idea in Africa? Need some funding to bring your vision to life or to further your entrepreneurship journey? Submit a brief summary of your business idea or existing business here. Deadline to apply is April 28, 2017.

2. The UNDP’s Equator Prize
This year’s Equator Prize winners will feature innovative solutions related to protecting, restoring and/or sustainably managing nature to achieve local sustainable development, such as food security, water security, sustainable jobs and livelihoods, and disaster risk reduction. To be eligible for the Equator Prize 2017, the following requirements apply:

The initiative must have been in existence for at least three years, and/or the actions taken must have been in place for at least three years.
The nominee must be either a local community based group operating in a rural area, based in a country receiving support from the United Nations Development Programme; or an indigenous peoples’ community in any country, operating in a rural area.
Actions taken must be nature based and must deliver benefits related to two or more sustainable development goals. (SDGs). Each winning group will receive $10,000 USD. One may self nominate here.

3. Need free legal assistance? Contact TrustLaw
TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s legal pro bono service that links amazing social enterprises such as who are fortunate to win Fellowships with The Anzisha Prize, who are working hard to make a major difference and achieve really meaningful impact, to a large network of lawyers who provide free legal services. For more information, visit their website here. If you have further questions you may contact program coordinator, Shalom M. Ndiku at shalom.ndiku@thomsonreuters.com.

4. The Young African Leadership Initiative call for applicants from Southern Africa
The Regional Leadership Center Southern Africa is now receiving applications for the Residential Program Cohort 8 (12 June – 7 July 2017) and Cohort 9 (11 August – 8 September 2017). The deadline for application is Sunday, March 05, 23:59 SAST. For more information or to submit an application visithere.

5. Enhancing Growth in New Enterprise Programme Business Plan Competition for Ghanaians
To participate in the ENGINE Business Plan Competition, one must be:

A Ghanian citizen
20 years of age or older
Propose an expansion of an existing business or new business that is or will be based in Ghana. Learn more here.

6. Ye! Global Awards are designed to celebrate an outstanding young entrepreneur who is successfully running his/her own enterprise and is making a positive impact on society. The award is part of the Global Inclusion Awards. This year, the Ye! Awards are also an official event of Germany’s G20 Presidency!
Who can apply? Any entrepreneur, from any country who is under 30 years old and whose enterprise has been officially running for over a year.
What the winner receives? A sponsored trip to Berlin in May to attend the Global Inclusion Award Gala Dinner and receive the award on stage, and an exclusive invitation to the G-20’s GPFI Forum in Berlin.

Application Deadline: March 15, 2017
More information: http://yecommunity.com/en/blog/ye-awards-2017-open-for-application
Application link: http://yecommunity.com/en/contest/global-ye-youth-entrepreneurship-awards
Contact: awards@yecommunity.com

You are receiving this mail because you have previously applied for the Anzisha Prize, downloaded content from our website, participated in one of our gatherings, or partnered with us.