2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship Programme

From the Longitude Prize in the 18th century to Alfred Nobel's laureate awards at the start of the 20th century, the power of prize programmes to catalyse innovation and inspiration is undeniable. Such prizes serve a purpose beyond recognition and reward alone - also raising awareness, creating role models and igniting ambition. From our experience with previous prize programmes within Africa and globally, we have met remarkable entrepreneurs who never lost belief in themselves, even when confronted by overwhelming challenges but persevered to bring their ideas to fruition. As such entrepreneurs work to create businesses that meet the needs of those around them and by doing so raise the living standards of their communities while also creating something of lasting value for themselves, their employees, their communities and their nations. The Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship is honoured to provide a platform upon which they may continue to inspire a new generation of African entrepreneurs.

The objectives of the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship are:

    To promote the value of entrepreneurship as a driving force of today's Africa
    To celebrate the standards of business excellence within Africa
    To encourage small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to embrace the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
    To build strong networks of African entrepreneurs as a source of learning and sharing of best practice
    To attract more venture capital inflows towards good businesses across Africa

Timings

Applications to the 2011 Africa Awards will remain open until August 24th. The Gala Awards Banquet and CONVERGENCE: AFRICA conference on entrepreneeurship will take place on December 8th, 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya.