It was a glorious moment for Ms Bunmi Esther Olalude and Ms Christianah Madu, the two Nigerian innovators honoured at the prestigious Anzisha Prize Awards Gala held on August 6, 2025.
They were among the four prize winners who received a $10,000 prize each to further the impactful work they are already delivering in their communities.
Ms Olalude was honoured with the Job Creation Award for creating the most jobs, particularly for women and youth, and she informed the audience, “If I keep on doing what I am doing, I know I can go anywhere and reach my biggest dreams.”
On her part, Ms Madu was awarded the Storytelling Award for her powerful communication and ability to increase visibility for her venture.
Another winner was Ms Cebolenkosi Gcabashe from South Africa, who earned the Revenue Growth Award for his business which showed the greatest increase in profitability.
“As a person from a rural area, this award means the world to me and the community I come from,” he said, urging young business leaders to “start where you are with what you have and the rest will come along with your journey.”
The fourth winner, Mr Tafadzwa Manyanye, received the Systems of Delivery Award for building strong operational systems to scale efficiently, and he advised other aspiring entrepreneurs to “just start,” noting, “whatever you are doing, starting today means you are gearing up for a successful tomorrow.”
The ceremony was part of the Anzisha Entrepreneurship Education in Africa (EEA) Summit, held at the African Leadership Academy campus.
The event concluded with a powerful call to action for business and community leaders to support the continent’s very young entrepreneurs.
The summit brought together policy architects, educators, investors, and business leaders to explore best practices in entrepreneurship education and celebrate the innovative strategies driving youth-led growth.
“Youth entrepreneurship isn’t the backup plan, it’s the blueprint. For too long we have treated entrepreneurship as plan B, the path we take when the real systems fail you. But today has reminded us that youth-led enterprise isn’t what happens when things go wrong, it’s what happens when young people take control of their futures,” Anzisha Prize Managing Editor, Didi Onwu, said.
“We’ve heard from our entrepreneurs who are running digital schools, inventing organic farming alternatives, designing global fashion brands, solving health challenges and more – all before the age of 25. They’re not asking if they’re too young. They’re building anyway,” Onwu added.