The Anzisha Prize which has announced a call for applications today for Africa’s youngest, most exciting social and business entrepreneurs under 22 years of age has also announced that the African Leadership Academy and The MasterCard Foundation have extended their sponsorship for five more years to 2020.
The5th annual social impact program says the extension of the sponsorhisp will help accelerate the entry of millions of young Africans into viable and exciting entrepreneurship opportunities within high growth economic sectors.
Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation said, “We have already seen the #AnzishaEffect at work through the inspirational stories and leadership of Anzisha Fellows like Laetitia Mukungu, Andrew Mupuya and Thato Kgatlhanye. They are now globally recognized and celebrated role models. We’re excited about expanding our support of the Anzisha Prize so that many more young entrepreneurs in Africa can make a lasting impact in their communities and countries.”
Applications close on April 15th, 2015, and youth from any background are encouraged to apply in either English, French, Portuguese and Arabic.
The Anzisha Prize Tour team will visit key hubs and engage local media in every region and as well work with over 25 country partner organisations to assist applicants apply either in paper and online.
Each year, 12 finalists win a two-week trip to South Africa for a learning experience of a lifetime at African Leadership Academy, and share over $75,000 USD in cash funding. At a Gala Dinner, the grand prize winner is announced and recieves $25,000 with which to grow their business. This year, Anzisha Prize says its Fellows will get support through the recently launched Youth Entrepreneur Support Unit (YES-U), based at African Leadership Academy.
“There are few programs with the reach and potential of the Anzisha Prize that are so focused on this age group,” comments Josh Adler, Director for the Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership at African Leadership Academy, and Manager of the Anzisha program, “This year, we will see the various parts of the ecosystem we’ve been investing into since 2010 begin to really work together for the benefit of Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs, wherever they may be!”
Africa is the world’s youngest continent, with over 600m people under the age of 25.