The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) is pleased to announce the finalists for our 2022 AWIEF Awards.
Currently in its sixth edition, 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.
An independent panel of judges that included two past AWIEF Lifetime Achievement Award winners, selected the 24 finalists across 8 categories. These outstanding women entrepreneurs and business leaders represent companies from a diverse range of sectors and operating in 12 different African countries: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
The AWIEF Awards winners will be announced and celebrated at a special ceremony and gala dinner, sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS) at the AWIEF2022 conference taking place on 26 and 27 September 2022, on-site in Cairo, Egypt and virtually.
Irene Ochem, AWIEF Founder and Chief Executive Officer, says: “We were once again highly impressed by the entries and what women entrepreneurs and business leaders are accomplishing across the African continent. Our 24 finalists embody the leadership, resilience, and innovation required for sustainable success and we are excited and proud to celebrate and honour them through our AWIEF Awards.”
Past AWIEF Lifetime Achievement Award winner and 2022 Judge, Daisy Molefhi, Founder and Vice-Chancellor, ABM University College, Botswana said: “Judging the 2022 AWIEF Awards was an eye opener to the amazing and transformative initiatives of women across the African continent.”
Past AWIEF Lifetime Achievement Award winner and 2022 Judge, Margaret Hirsch, Co-founder and Executive Director, Hirsch’s Homestores, South Africa said: “I found the 2022 AWIEF Awards to be of a very high calibre. The judging was very difficult because they were all so unique in their own special way. What I looked for were women who are not only running a successful business, but who are helping other women to grow as well.”
2022 AWIEF Awards Judge Dr Nevine Abdelkhalek, Dean, School of Continuing Education at Nile University, Egypt said: “It has been a valuable and enriching experience judging the 2022 AWIEF Awards. I am really glad that I was part of it and look forward to meeting the finalists in Cairo. It was very difficult to choose the best from the best. They are all impressive, with dedicated clear vision and full of passion towards what they are achieving.”
Among the finalists is TROPICS MAGAZINE’s Chief Editor, Afro-optimist, Serial Media Entrepreneur, President of the Board of Directors of the Tropics Group of Companies, Vénicia Stelle Guinot is a Pan-African business and media personality hailing from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. From the age of 23, she embarked on her media entrepreneurship journey in South Africa and founded the TROPICS GROUP OF COMPANIES conglomerate with close to $0. Twelve years later, the company has succeeded in diversifying its portfolio and she remains the mastermind behind ventures such as Tropics Media Group, Tropics Magazine, Tropics Women in Business, Tropics Business Summit, African DOers, Tropics Invest & Co., Tropics Business Network, Tropics Mobile TV, and so much more. A bilingual and multi-media professional, 7-times award winning Entrepreneur on 3 continents, Vénicia Stelle Guinot is the Chief Editor at #TropicsMagazine which is recognized globally as the first business and lifestyle magazine from #Africa with a growing community of 500,000+ subscribed readers in digital and print formats.
A true strategist, an ace of institutional communication, Vénicia Stelle Guinot is passionate about ‘Nation Branding as levers of development of the African continent’. She takes great pleasure in advising global Heads of State, C-Suite Leaders, Investors and Young Emerging Leaders (all sectors and origins combined), from Johannesburg to Washington DC via Luxembourg, and accelerates their strategy to realize goals.
The finalists for the 2022 AWIEF Awards are (names in alphabetical order):
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
- Gisèla Van Houcke – Founder and CEO, Zuri Luxury Hair and Beauty, DR Congo
- Nadine Farrag – CEO and Founder, Farahy, Egypt
- Stacey Menga Onyango – Director, Minkoti Agencies Limited, Kenya
TECH ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
- Faith Mokgalaka – Founder and CEO, Puno Greenery, South Africa
- Sahar Salama – Founder and CEO, TPAY Mobile, Egypt
- Thato Mabudusha Schermer – Co-Founder and CEO, Zoie Health Technologies, South Africa
AGRI ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
- Esther Kimani – Founder, Farmer Lifeline Technologies, Kenya
- Korka Diaw – President, Réseau des Agricultrices du Nord, Senegal
- Lesego Serolong – Founder and CEO, Bokamoso Impact Investments, South Africa
ENERGY ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
- Diana Mbogo – Managing Director, Millennium Engineers Enterprises Limited, Tanzania
- Judith Marera – Founder and CEO, Lanforce Energy, Zimbabwe
- Mona Al Adawy – Founder and CEO, GeoEnergy Petroleum Services, Egypt
CREATIVE INDUSTRY AWARD
- Abai Schulze – Founder and Creative Director, ZAAF Collection, Ethiopia
- Barbara Kamba-Nyathi – CEO, Bold Dialogue, Zimbabwe
- Vénicia Guinot – Chairwoman, Tropics Group of Companies, South Africa
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AWARD
- Barbara Afia Class-Peter – Founder, Honour-Barbara Centre for Speech, Ghana
- Johanna Cloete – Managing Director, GEN Namibia, Namibia
- Lumbie Mlambo – Founder and CEO, JB Dondolo, Zimbabwe
EMPOWERMENT AWARD
- Martha Alade – Founder, Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), Nigeria
- Teresa Njoroge – Founder and CEO, Clean Start Solution, Kenya
- Velveeta Viban – Founder and Executive Director, I’m Human Org, Cameroon
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
- Dalia Ibrahim – CEO, Nahdet Misr Publishing House, Egypt
- Manal Amin – CEO, Arabize, Egypt
- Nomhle Maggie Mliswa – CEO, Summerhill Farms, Zimbabwe
Congratulations to the finalists and thank you to all who entered.
Registration and tickets for the AWIEF2022 conference and AWIEF awards (in person in Cairo or virtually) are available online at: https://www.awieforum.org/awief-conference-2022/
For enquiries: info@awieforum.org
