Thirteen Nigerian entrepreneurs and one South African have been shortlisted as finalists to compete for the $20,000 grand prize of the Boma Prize for Africa, a platform supporting innovative SMEs across the continent.
The 14 finalists were selected during an unveiling ceremony on Thursday in Abuja, from those who made it to the semi-finals.
Each of the 14 entrepreneurs received a prize of 300,000 naira for advancing to the semi-final stage.
Faith Adeyanju, Brand Manager of BPFA, announced that three entrepreneurs will be selected and unveiled as final winners at the grand finale, which is scheduled to take place in Ghana in November.
According to Adeyanju, the overall winner will receive $10,000, while the first and second runners-up will be awarded $7,000 and $3,000, respectively.
Miss Adeyanju highlighted that the BPFA is an initiative designed to support African entrepreneurs, innovators, and young people who have ideas but lack funding opportunities. It provides a platform for small business owners, startups, and young entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and contribute to the socio-economic development of the continent.
“We started this initiative about two years ago and we discovered that a lot of people need our services; they have an idea, want to do business, but do not have the money to start up. This initiative started as a gradual process with us supporting small scale enterprises on social media but then our boss realized we could do better,” she said.
Founder of African Rhapsody and one of the finalists, Ifekoya Funmilayo, commended the organisers for the initiative, adding that “it felt rewarding to be among those chosen to go to the finals.
She said, “You know, as they say, the reward for results is hard work, and means that there is some level of recognition involved. We need to also put some more work into our brands and to take the brands to the global stage. The feedback from the judges also is important in terms of how we now put back the feedback into our brands.”
