The AfCFTA Secretariat and its partners on the 4D, ProPer and Caravan Initiatives, AfroChampions and the Arab Bank for Economic Development (BADEA), have announced the finalists and semi-finalists for the AfCFTA Caravan Prize.
A key criterion for the selection of the finalists and semi-finalists is for an organisation and its founders to conceive and implement models, concepts, plans, products and/or services that, at scale, can contribute to the objectives of AfCFTA and the broader Agenda 2063 of the African Union, of which AfCFTA is a flagship.
The finalists and semi-finalists were selected by jurors with a rich background in the development and economic transformation sectors. Their selection further reflects their institutions’ strong commitment to AfCFTA, SMEs, startup innovation and inclusive growth. They had the difficult task of picking the AfCFTA Caravan Prize semi-finalists, finalists, and eventual winners.
A list of finalists and semi-finalists, chosen from a pool of more than 1500 eligible candidate enterprises, can be found below and also on the Prize webpages here.
About the AfCFTA Caravan Prize
The AfCFTA Caravan Prize celebrates Africa’s SMEs, startups, social enterprises and innovator entities keen on harnessing the benefits that will be created by AfCFTA to expand continentally and flourish at the grassroots.  Growing out of the earlier AfCFTA Vision and Caravan Africa competitive grants programs, the Prize seeks to discover transformative ideas to expedite AfCFTA implementation.
The Prize is a component of the broader Caravan Initiative, which itself is a flagship of the AU-led 4D Initiative. The Caravan platform aims to provide extensive soft infrastructure to boost the capacity of SMEs and startups in Africa to expand beyond their home country. It is at the base of the ProPer Network, a supply chain quality assurance program created to ensure that the “Rules of Origin” system at the heart of AfCFTA works for both governments and businesses. Caravan also powers the “jobs in green tech” program, the Digital Green Corridor, designed to promote a trade & investment corridor for Africa’s clean tech entrepreneurs to benefit from AfCFTA and the ongoing global green shift simultaneously.
The winners of the AfCFTA Caravan Prize will be announced during a gala dinner at the Arab Africa Trade Forum on the 3rd of November 2021. Members of the public are warmly invited to join the AfCFTA Laureates online at www.bit.ly/AfCFTACaravan to celebrate African entrepreneurial energy at 9:00 pm (GMT+2).
About the AfCFTA
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of Agenda 2063 of the African Union — Africa’s own development vision. It was approved by the 18th ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 which adopted the decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area. This initiative whose immediate implementation would provide quick wins, impact on socio-economic development and enhance confidence and the commitment of Africans as the owners and drivers of Agenda 2063.
The AfCFTA aims at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in global trade negotiations. The AfCFTA Agreement was signed on 21st March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, came into force on 30 May 2019. The scope of the AfCFTA Agreement includes the Protocol on Trade in Goods, the Protocol on Trade in Services, and the Protocol on Rules and Procedures on the Settlement of Disputes, the Protocol on Investment, the Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights, the Protocol on Competition, the Protocol on Digital Trade, and the Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade.
What Leaders have to say about the Prize
“If there is one hope that animates everything we do as a Secretariat, it is that AfCFTA must become the most inclusive and most digital Free Trade Area & Process in the World. By focusing on SMEs, digital innovation, gender & equitable transformation, the AfCFTA Caravan Prize will serve as a continental beacon for Agenda 2063. I celebrate the Prize Laureates for sharing our vision and thank the Jury and Partners for stepping up to the challenge.”
~ H.E. Wamkele Mene – Secretary General, AfCFTA Secretariat
“Africa cannot take advantage of AfCFTA to industrialise and eradicate poverty until three things happen: SMEs absorb tech to boost productivity, wealth from productivity growth is equitably shared, and the scale of growth becomes regional. The AfCFTA Caravan Laureates exemplify how we can achieve all 3 goals, hence our enthusiastic support as BADEA for this initiative.”
~Â Â Dr. Sidi Ould TAHÂ – Director General, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
“Of all the flagships meant to take Africa to Agenda 2063, AfCFTA is today the most critical. But AfCFTA itself must have flagships. I think that there is no better candidate than the Caravan Initiative, of which the AfCFTA Caravan Prize is a major component. Caravan’s emphasis on youth, gender, equity & technology provides all the pillars for erecting a vision of AfCFTA that all sections of African society can rally behind. It is as much a banner as a flagship.”
~ H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou – Former President of Niger & African Union AfCFTA Champion
Lists
AfCFTA Caravan Prize Finalists
- Bernie Akporiaye – MATONTINE
- Dr John Afolayan – Medics2You
- Fokou Hugures Bertin – WhatsNear
- Piwai Nigel Chilasha – Alley Capital Group (PVT) LTD
- Matthieu Gaudemar – Kudoti
- Tapuwa Ndongwe – Wecol Limited
- Jean LOBE LOBE – Waspito
- Dennis Onkangi Onkundi – Tekizo Africa Limited
- Oritseweyinmi Sisan Tuedon – PostOff
- Mildreight Muzendu – Africa Free Trade Area (AFTA)
AfCFTA Caravan Prize Semi-finalists
- Langton Chirinda – GUNDI Consulting
- Alex Mativo – NANASI
- Abdullahi Muhammad Bature – Schoola
- Edem Adjamagbo – Samoa
- Roy Jere (Clean Cooking Technology Solution) – Kainos Afro-Green Energy
- Andre Hackett – SCHOOL OF NEW AFRICA
- Rukudzo Chikonye – Agora
- Serge Olivier KITT EKOTTO – YADOO PAY
- Apegu- Eolu Julius Nelson – (Transforming Soil Health though Biodynamics Agriculture for Food Security and Wealth)
- Gugulethu Nyathi – Ribbon Blockchain
