$75,000 USD Search for Africa’s Top Young Innovators: Anzisha Prize Tour Comes to Lagos – Chi Achebe & Jamila Pyne hold Interactive Sessions

The Anzisha Prize Tour is on a continent-wide search for Africa’s rising young innovators and the first stop is Lagos, Nigeria. On Saturday, March 17th, 2012, the African Leadership Academy’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership will be hosting interactive information sessions at the Wennovation Hub in Lagos. On hand to conduct two interactive sessions with interested participants are Jamila Pyne, the Centre director, and Chi Achebe, the Azisha Prize program manager.

The Anzisha Prize is a continent-wide youth innovation competition that promotes entrepreneurial projects amongst young people, aged 15-20, in Africa. Managed out of African Leadership Academy’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which was established through a $1.6 million multi-year partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, the initiative seeks to catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship among youth across the continent. Finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to the African Leadership Academy campus in Honeydew, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa to attend a weeklong entrepreneurship conference. Grand prize winners, selected from these finalists, will share $75,000 USD in cash prizes. This year, there will also be a special $10,000 award given to an Anzisha finalist with a renewable energy related project, courtesy of Silicon Valley Community Foundation Donor Circle for Africa.

One of the eight (8) 2011 finalists from every corner of the African continent was Adamma Umeofia, a 20-year old Nigerian who founded “Webuilt:Africa”, a design company that builds market stalls using recycled building materials. The first product to hit the marketplace, the Bi-Table Unit, was created for meat vendors who require multiple clean surfaces for cutting and selling in the marketplace. According to Adamma, “Webuilt:Africa is a collective effort of people willing to build for the African who has been forgotten.” The Anzisha Prize is now accepting applications. Visit www.anzishaprize.org to download the application form and review submission instructions. Application deadline is May 1, 2012, and early submissions are highly encouraged.

Here are the details for this weekend’s Lagos meet:

Date: Saturday 17 March 2012
Time: 11AM & 2PM prompt
Venue: Wennovation Hub, Entrepreneurship Development Center, Plot C Obasa Road, off Oba-Akran Avenue (behind AP filling station), Ikeja, Lagos State
Tickets: Free

To register, send your Name, Age, Gender, email-address, and session time of interest via online form on www.anzishaprize.org, email [email protected] or via SMS to 08088444242. Register now, attendance is free but space is limited. For more information visit www.anzishaprize.org.