Africa does not lack entrepreneurial ambition. Across the continent, entrepreneurs are building businesses, creating livelihoods and developing solutions to some of the most pressing challenges in their communities. What too often stands between an idea and a thriving enterprise is not a shortage of ingenuity, but access to the right capital at the right time. …
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Author Archives: Grace matthew
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Africa Has the Entrepreneurs. What It Needs Is the Capital to Back Them
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Haroun Mahamat Adoum Is Transforming Waste Management in Chad for a Cleaner Future
After completing his master’s studies in Cyprus, Haroun Mahamat Adoum returned home having experienced cities where organised waste collection and sanitation were part of everyday urban life. Back in Chad, he saw a very different reality: communities dealing with unmanaged waste and limited access to structured collection services. The contrast stayed with him. Rather than …
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Christian Donfack Djoumessi Is Redefining Luxury Chocolate in Cameroon: A 2019 TEF Success Story
Christian Donfack Djoumessi wants the world to see African cocoa differently. Cameroon grows cocoa, but for Christian, producing the raw ingredient was only part of the opportunity. The bigger question was what could happen if more of that cocoa was transformed locally into premium products carrying an African identity. That question led him to create …
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Adama Bologo: Redefining African Fashion Through Heritage
Adama Bologo is making African heritage wearable for a new generation. Fashion can preserve history without being confined to the past. Across Africa, designers are drawing on traditional fabrics, silhouettes and craftsmanship while creating clothing designed for contemporary consumers. For Adama Bologo, that balance is at the heart of his work. From his base in …
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Rethinking Philanthropy: TEF CEO, Somachi Chris-Asoluka Calls for Greater Global South Collaboration at Brazilian Philanthropy Forum
At the Brazilian Philanthropy Forum 2026 in São Paulo, Tony Elumelu Foundation CEO Somachi Chris-Asoluka shared an African perspective on the future of philanthropy, the role of entrepreneurship in development, and why stronger partnerships across the Global South can unlock greater impact. Philanthropy is changing. Across the world, organisations working to advance the public good are confronting …
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Ivette Biokou Is Turning Benin’s Fruit Surplus Into Opportunity
Ivette Biokou is turning surplus fruit into sustainable business. Every harvest brings a window of opportunity. For farmers growing mangoes, bananas and pineapples in Benin, that window can also be a race against time. Fresh fruit is highly perishable, and when it cannot be sold, stored or processed quickly enough, its value can disappear. For …
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Louis Wilfried Yehouessi Is Turning Benin’s Tomato Harvests Into Economic Value
Louis Wilfried Yehouessi is creating more value from what Benin already grows. Every harvest creates a question. What happens next? For tomatoes, that question is particularly important. Fresh produce has a limited shelf life, and when markets, storage or processing systems cannot absorb a harvest quickly enough, part of its economic value can disappear through …
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Bamai Namata Is Building Trust Into Cameroon’s Informal Service Economy
Bamai Namata is making it easier to find the right person for the job. When a pipe bursts, an electrical fault disrupts a business or a home urgently needs repairs, finding the right technician can be as challenging as fixing the problem itself. Across Cameroon, households and businesses have long relied on informal artisans for …
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Nneile Nkholise Is Building Medical Technology Around African Patients.
Nneile Nkholise is rethinking how medical technology can serve African patients. For a patient waiting for a prosthetic limb or a specialised medical device, time matters. So does fit. A device that does not adequately reflect a patient’s anatomy can affect comfort, usability and quality of life. Yet across many African healthcare systems, patients and …
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Tatenda Mungofa Is Building Vehicles for Africa, Not Just Selling Cars to It
Tatenda Mungofa believes a vehicle can reveal a great deal about the economy that produced it. From the roads it was designed to navigate and the climate it was built to endure, to the infrastructure that supports it and the customers it serves, automobiles are often shaped by their local environments. Yet for much of …
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