A Ugandan innovator has won a top Africa innovation award, walking away with US$50,000 (Shs180.49m).
Geoffrey Ssekatawa, the founder of Brent Technologies, a lubricant collection and recycling company was 12 winners of the African Entrepreneurship Award 2017 supported by AfriBMCE Bank of Africa.
In its 3rd edition, African Entrepreneurship Award is an initiative of BMCE BANK of Africa that aims to support African entrepreneurs, and has encouraged, since its launch in 2015, 33 entrepreneurs who were supported by more than 300 African and Global Mentors.
Ssekatawa’s Brent Technologies stops the harmful dumping and burning of waste motor oils, and instead recycles and resells oil related products.
He says: “We recycle waste motor oil, which would end up in landfills, water sources, or burnt into the atmosphere.”
In Uganda, as in many countries, imported lubricating engine oils are expensive. And, when their effectiveness is depleted, they are dumped. Ssekatawa is on his way to well-oiled solutions.
Following the final stage, 40 finalists from 19 African countries were brought together for a boot camp in Casablanca on December 6 to 10, 2017.
A concluding ceremony was organized on December 11 to reward the most impactful sustainable projects in three categories of the program: education, environment and unchartered fields.
For the third edition of African Entrepreneurship Award, 12 winners from 9 African countries shared an envelope of 1 million dollars.
Other winners include Louise Williamson – South Africa, Allen Kimambo – Tanzania, Folashade Amusa – Nigeria, Adan Mohammed – Kenya, Sylvester Mujakperuo – Nigeria, Kwame Ababio – Ghana, Flavien Simo – Cameroon, Paul Bartels – Afrique du Sud, Meryam El Ouafi – Morocco, Badr Idrissi – Morocco and Christelle Kwizera –Rwanda.
The 12 winners were selected by a remarkable jury, presided by the Chairman of BMCE Bank of Africa Othman Benjelloun.
Announced by Chairman Othman Benjelloun during Global Entrepreneurship Summit, held in Marrakech in 2014, and illustrating the commitment of BMCE Bank of Africa to spur innovative entrepreneurship in Africa, African Entrepreneurship Award reached its third year with more than 12,000 project proposals from 132 countries, including all the 54 African countries, and hosted more than 112 entrepreneurs who were coached in the boot camp.
This unique initiative has enabled BMCE Bank of Africa to concretize its vision of a growing Africa, boosted by its young entrepreneurs to bolster economic and social opportunities presented to all Africans.
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