Five social entrepreneurs have been named Africa’s top women innovators at the World Economic forum Africa taking place in Kigali Rwanda.
The five were selected from different sectors including technology, retail, agriculture and fashion and came from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Rwanda.
The criteria for the challenge required entrants’ companies to be less than three years old, be earning revenue for at least a year and have proven innovation and positive social impact.
The winners were invited to the WEF Africa forum in Kigali where they will meet other social entrepreneurs and impact investors; and participate in discussions relevant to their expertise and interests.
Cheng established the Moringa School in Nairobi, Kenya, to enable young people to gain the necessary skills to compete in the digital economy. Two years on, all students who’ve taken a course at the school have been placed in work and are estimated to be earning an average three-times more than before they attended the school.
Natalie Bitature – Musana Carts
Bitature, a Ugandan, developed environmentally friendly solar-powered vending carts that are used to hawk food stuff around the capital Kampala. The carts, known as Musana Carts, are sold for $400 each. It is estimated that each Musana Cart saves 3,000 tons of carbon emissions and improves the health of cities by eliminating pollution from charcoal and kerosene stoves.
Lillian Makoi – bimaAFYA
Tanzanian Lillian Makoi’s bimaAFYA offers mobile micro-health insurance for low-income earners in the informal sector, enabling healthcare services by drastically reducing costs with its completely mobile, paperless solution. bimaAFYA plans to expand to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana in 2017.
Larissa Uwase – Carl Group
Uwase’s Carl Group is improving the health of the population in Kigali, Rwanda by innovating new food products from the sweet potato staple crop.
Nneile Nkholise – iMED Tech Group
South Africa’s Nkholise founded iMED Tech Group, a company that uses additive manufacturing to design breast and facial prostheses for cancer and burn victims. The company only employs African women under the age of 30 with research backgrounds in mechanical engineering.