And the Winners of the 2022 AWIEF Awards are… Martha Alade, Lumbie Mlambo & Sahar Salama

The winners of the 2022 AWIEF Awards were announced last night at a glittering ceremony on the rooftop of the Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo, Egypt. The awards ceremony and gala dinner capped the two-day #AWIEF2022 Conference, which was held in North Africa for the first time.

The prestigious annual AWIEF Awards recognise, honour, and celebrate women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s inclusive economic growth and social development.

AWIEF Founder and CEO, Irene Ochem said at the ceremony, “Congratulations to the winners and thank you to our judges. I always feel a little emotional when it comes to the AWIEF Awards ceremony because it means that we’re nearing the end of the year’s activities, but it’s a bittersweet feeling because we also get to celebrate phenomenal women. It’s an opportunity to see the fruits of our work and know why we do what we do.”

And the winners of the 2022 AWIEF Awards are:

• Young Entrepreneur Award: Gisèla Van Houcke – Founder and CEO, Zuri Luxury Hair and Beauty, DR Congo
• Tech Entrepreneur Award: Sahar Salama – Founder and CEO, TPAY Mobile, Egypt
• Agri Entrepreneur Award: Korka Diaw – President, Réseau des Agricultrices du Nord, Senegal
• Energy Entrepreneur Award: Mona Al Adawy – Founder and CEO, GeoEnergy Petroleum Services, Egypt
• Creative Industry Award: Abai Schulze – Founder and Creative Director, ZAAF Collection, Ethiopia
• Social Entrepreneur Award: Lumbie Mlambo – Founder and CEO, JB Dondolo, Zimbabwe
• Empowerment Award: Martha Alade – Founder, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), Nigeria
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Manal Amin – CEO, Arabize, Egypt

“I applaud wholeheartedly every single woman gathered here today and especially all the award nominees and winners, ” Izabela Milewska, Digital Skills Global Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Headline Sponsor of the AWIEF Awards said. “Your work and achievements are the north star for many other women to follow in your footsteps, learn from your incredible experience and dream big.”

“Amazon Web Services is proud to partner with Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum and support this community with education and training opportunities across Africa, to accelerate gender equality and women empowerment through cloud computing technology.”

Congratulations to the winners!