A release dated September 17, 2015, revealed that two of the twelve chosen finalists for the Anzisha Prize 2015 were from Cameroon. It is a yearly competition which awards young African entrepreneurs under 22, who developed innovative solutions to social challenges, or established successful businesses in their respective communities.

Cameroonian finalists are Fabrice Alomo, 22, founder of MyAconnect, which is a web platform that aims to ease trade in Africa and used by 128 companies worldwide. The second Cameroonian finalist is Vanessa Zommi, 19, Co-founder of Emerlad Moringa Tea, which aims at helping people suffering from diabetes in her community, by providing products that contain antioxidants which are vital to health.

According to the organizers, the 12 finalists of this year were picked out of 494 applicants from 33 African countries. The next part of the competition, the Anzisha Week, will be held in Johannesburg from 12th to 18th November 2015. The three winners will be sharing a $75,000 grant (about 36 million CFA francs) to develop their projects.

The two Cameroonian finalists are hence given the opportunity to follow the steps of their compatriot Alain Nteff, who was among last year’s winners. He returned home with $25,000 (12 million FCFA) to develop his project GiftedMom. An application through which, SMS are sent to pregnant women from rural areas, to remind them dates of their prenatal visits. Following the implementation of his project, a significant decrease in the rate of deaths during childbirth was recorded in the areas where it had been implemented.

BRM