Dodoma — SAHARA Group Foundation has empowered young African social innovators and entrepreneurs with seed funding for improving access to clean energy and sustainable environments across the continent.
Director, Sahara Group Foundation, Ms Ejiro Gray also expressed commitment to supporting the young innovators during an event in which they provided seed funding to 10 outstanding fellows from its Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) Fellowship programme.
The Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship programme, a social initiative in partnership with LEAP Africa and Impact Amplifier, was established to empower young African social innovators whose enterprises are dedicated to seed innovation which addresses climate change and clean energy.
"We want to improve access to clean energy and sustainable environments across the continent. The Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship welcomed a total of 20 from various African countries who participated in a six-month fellowship," she said.
She said the top ten innovators have each been awarded 5,000 US dollars (almost 12m/-) in seed funding to support the expansion of their socially impactful businesses.
Ms Gray commended the programme participants for their remarkable dedication and resilience throughout the programme.
She emphasised that the Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship Programme was established to bolster Africa development by identifying and empowering young, creative social innovators working to create sustainable environments and bridge the energy gap.
She called upon all the 20 programme participants to apply the knowledge and experiences gained to deliver lasting impact across Africa through their businesses.
The top 10 recipients of this year's seed funding are Philipo Kitungano, Founder, Kigoma Eco-cultural Tourism Enterprise (Tanzania); Joyce Rugano, Founder, EcoRich Solutions (Kenya); Ainomugisha Shifra, Founding Director, SOLAFAM Uganda (Uganda); Jolis Nduwimana, Executive Director, WEGE Company (Burundi).
Others are Andrew Mpashi, Co-Founder, Twalima Agro Solutions Limited (Zambia), Timothy Munthali, Founder, Tawonga Cooking Oil Processing Enterprise (Malawi). Kehinde Fashola, Founder, Fizzle Power Tech Limited (Nigeria), Muofhe Ratshikombo, CEO, Oumie Grandè (South Africa); Paul Nnaluo, Founder, Gas Monkey (Nigeria) and Muideen Adegoke, Founder, DigitAgric Integrated Limited (Nigeria).
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director, LEAP Africa, Kehinde Ayeni, congratulated the fellows for their successful programme completion and encouraged them to persevere in their commitment to innovation and social progress.
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She emphasised that the investment in their growth by Sahara Group Foundation and LEAP Africa reflects confidence in their potential and the power of their ideas to advance Africa development.
Speaking on behalf of the graduating Fellows, Philipo Kitungano from Tanzania thanked Sahara Group Foundation and LEAP Africa for the inspiring learning experience.
She expressed gratitude for the invaluable knowledge and skills acquired during the fellowship and pledged to utilise them for meaningful change.
The Sahara Impact Fund Fellowship programme has since its launch in 2020, directly invested in over 50 African social innovators.
Through strategic initiatives like this, Sahara Group Foundation is dedicated to sustainably improving lives and livelihoods across Africa.
