7 Young And Successful African Entrepreneurs To Watch In 2017

By David Cox


African entrepreneurship is defiantly on the rise led by some of the youngest minds you can imagine. These young brains are taking charge of the business platform and taking on the world head-on. In an incredible break from the past, they are turning the tides regardless of their age or business exposure. This list of young and successful African entrepreneurs paints the best picture of young minds who are changing the business platform in Africa.

Adeniyi Makanjuola is easy to miss in a crowd because of his reserved demeanor. However, this impression is deceptive considering that the Nigerian is making impressive in-loads in energy, oil and gas and financial sector, among others. He is also making forays in aviation, taking the shine from traditional players who were multinationals. His business has expanded to other African countries, Europe and Middle East.

Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe is a Tanzanian former musician and beauty queen. She leads the list of women entrepreneurs in Tanzania and Africa. Her interest is furniture which she drives with Molacaho brand. The brand is highly Afro-centric with the ability to customize the furniture for you. She stands out by using locally sourced and uniquely Tanzanian designs.

Ndijeka Akuyuli Crosby is another Nigerian who has caught the attention of Africa and the entire world. She dominates with her love for art and paintings. Her work captures the mind of the world because it eclectically combines photo transfers, drawing, print making and collage. One of her most famous works was Drone which was originally valued at 300,000 dollars but eventually sold at 1.1 million dollars in 2012.

The online market was difficult to sell in Africa until Fatoumata Ba took charge of Jumia Ivory Coast as a marketing manager. With the assistance of Africa Internet Group, she grew the brand by reaps and bounds. This saw her transferred to Nigeria with the same mandate where the success was monumental. At a young age of 29, she remains a trailblazer for shortening what was presumed to take decades before it was achieved.

What were you doing at 25 years? Rupert Bryan was already a millionaire, having co-founded ISP-Web Africa at just 14 years in South Africa. He is credited with having a vision and following it until a company that was built from scratch hit a turnover of R130 million each year. The company is growing bigger and bigger with incredible web solutions.

DryBath was an inventive brand that would catapult Ludwick Marishane of Tanzania to the limelight. Some quarters regarded him as a prodigy for this invention which was done at 17 years of age. He has won numerous awards because of his brilliance including recognition by Global Championship of Global Students Entrepreneurs. One of his driving beliefs is that a genuine entrepreneur does not need motivation or encouragement to actualize his idea.

The elements that define Patrick E. Ngowi as an entrepreneur are industry, intellect and aim for excellence. His brand is Helvetic Group whose seed capital was only 50 dollars. This company was conceptualized at the age of 15 years. Because of his focus on sustainable solutions, he has been recognized by UN and went on to partner with similar minds in US, Europe and China, beyond other African countries. The fast growing brand is now worth more than 8 million dollars.




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