2018 is finally here, and that means it’s the time of year to begin putting plans into action. It’s our pleasure to wish everyone a prosperous year, and we hope you all accomplish great things. To get you inspired, here’s a list of 4 African entrepreneurs that are currently making waves in the continent.
Here are the list of Top 4 African Entrepreneurs to Watch Out For in 2018.
Bilikiss is the founder of WeCyclers, a company that offers waste collection and recycling services in Lagos. What’s unique about the brand is that it allows s to with their service and earn points for giving away their recyclable waste. These points can then be saved up and converted into food or household necessities, saving people money. So, not only does WeCyclers help the environment, but it helps people save a few naira here and there.
Bilikiss’ work has won numerous awards and has secured partners such as Coca Cola.
Jobs are never easy to come by, and this is the case in many African countries. That’s why Gloria Michelle Otieno desired nothing more than to start her own HR consultancy firm; which offers training, recruitment and staff outsourcing. Otieno started Recours Four Kenya Consultants Limited in Kenya with just $2000 of her own money and today the company makes well over $400,000 in annual revenue.
What drives Gloria to keep going is helping young people on their paths to success. She used to do her homework in her father’s office and watch how he interacted with his own staff. She always dreamed of having these kinds of interactions with her own staff one day and now she provides that same experience not only to herself, but to hundreds of people seeking work.
In 2016, when President Obama was still in office, Jean Bosco Nzeyimana had the once in a lifetime opportunity to sit with both Obama and tech juggernaut Mark Zuckerberg (the creator of Facebook). Why? Because young Nzeyimana was invited to speak on a at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. The reason he was invited was because he founded Habona Limited, a company that produces affordable and Eco-friendly bio-gas fuel from environmental waste.
Nzeyimana came from a village called Kitabi, in Nyamagabe district. This is a place where people had limited access to electricity and basic infrastructure. Instead of attending school and learning like regular children, the kids in Jean’s village would instead have to spend hours going into the forest to collect firewood. This inspired Jean to come up with an accessible solution for fuel that could help people who shared his upbringing.
Bethlehem grew up in a poor part of Ethiopia, where people barely had practical footwear. Determined to turn her life around, Bethlehem begged her family for the capital needed to start her own footwear business. Today, soleRebels is one of the fastest selling footwear brands globally. She now sells her environmentally friendly footwear in over 50 countries. This has led to her creating new jobs for people in Ethiopia and other African countries.
Bethlehem took a risk and it paid off. This just goes to show that anyone has the power to change the world by following their dreams.
