PHOTO: Life Bank
Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder of LifeBank
increase in working age population. Up to 12 million youth will enter the labor market across the region every year in the coming decades. When it comes to creating value, Africa’s youth are increasingly taking an active role in shaping their future. Young Africans are turning to entrepreneurship as a means of not just economic empowerment but also as a vehicle of positive change. Innovation is playing an especially critical role in tackling development challenges. There are countless examples. Matiedje Nkenmayi Gislaine from Cameroon is the CEO of Mumita Holdings, a youth-led agricultural start- up that supports farmers in a climate- vulnerable country in producing crops sustainably year-round using low- cost greenhouses and solar-powered irrigation. The firm mainly targets rural women farmers that cultivate African indigenous green leafy vegetables – an important source of revenue and nutrition. The low-cost greenhouses Mumita
gained global attention with his story documented in the bestseller “The Boy Who
which she created equipment for healthcare staff
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Partnering with the United Nations
Harnessed the Wind”. When he was only 14, to power his family’s home Kamkwamba built an electricity- producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book and modifying them to fit his needs. Today, Kamkwamba’s vision is embodied in the Moving Windmills Project, which he co-founded in 2008 and with which he went on to build low-cost community water wells, install solar pumps and energy systems, renovate local schools with new facilities and learning materials, and nurture development programs in several communities.
her company manufactured over 8,000 face shields for the country’s primary referral hospital and developed prosthetic limb prototypes, offering affordable solutions and hope to amputees. The Nigerian entrepreneur Temie Giwa-Tubosun is the founder of LifeBank, a start-up established in 2016 that delivers blood and related products to healthcare facilities using WHO-standard cold chain infrastructure. LifeBank uses data and technology to collect blood, then delivers the bags to hospitals in Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia. Since 2016, the company has served 1,200 hospitals and saved more than 40,000 lives. The Ghanaian entrepreneur Bernice Dapaah founded the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative (GBBI) in her hometown Kumasi. She produces bicycles using environmentally friendly resources such as bamboo and creates jobs for women, making the production much less energy-intensive. For each bamboo stem cut, 10 more are planted by the team. She also aims to offer sturdy alternative means of transport to allow disadvantaged people to brave unpaved roads. GBBI also donates bikes to students: “For every 10 bikes sold, we give one to a student from a poor rural area so that he or she can go to school,” said Dapaah in a radio interview. However, despite those high levels of entrepreneurial activity, African women tend to draw the short straw when it comes to funding and compared to their male counterparts, women- owned businesses tend to be smaller, have lower
Female entrepreneurship Parallel to the ascent of youth entrepreneurs, the drive for
gender equality and women’s empowerment has given rise to women entrepreneurs and female-led start- ups. Historically underrepresented in
provides are made from materials such as wood, cement and mesh that are sourced locally from farmers, reducing the cost of building a greenhouse from US$2,500 to about US$500. Gloria Kisilu is the founder
business, African women are now leading change and breaking barriers. Women entrepreneurs
Gloria Kisilu, founder of Shaba studio
contribute significantly to economic development
of Shaba studio in Kenya, a virtual platform that created a digital supply chain for rural communities making craft products. Local products from developing countries account for 65 percent of all handicraft exports around the world, but artisans often lose significant revenue to intermediaries. However, rural communities often do not have access to markets. Kisilu developed the Smart Community Centre App, which allows artisans in rural communities to receive and process orders directly, providing them with an efficient and transparent platform to take orders and track sales. Today, the project benefits over 400 artisans, increasing their profit margin from 6 percent to 60 percent. Another example is the Malawian inventor William Kamkwamba , who
and financial integration through job creation. According to a Harvard study, African women have the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity globally and are more likely to start businesses compared to women in other parts of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, has the highest rate of female entrepreneurs at 26 percent. Botswana, South Africa
and Ghana are among the countries with the highest share of women entrepreneurs globally. Fatou Juka Darboe is a young Gambian who is blazing a trail for women fueled by her passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). She co-founded the country’s first and only 3D printing company “Make 3D Company Limited” in 2019, with
average sales and fewer employees.
Several factors such as lack of access to capital and support- ecosystems block the potential of female founders and entrepreneurs in Africa.
Fatou Juka Darboe, co-founder of Make3D Company Limited
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