Africa?! That’s right, Africa. Forbes Magazine has announced their top 30 under 30 successful entrepreneurs thriving in Africa. Other things dwell in those deserts: innovation and creativity.
1. Mubarak Muyika, 20: Kenya
Orphaned at the age of 10, Mubarak worked hard to be a star student. Turning down an offer from Harvard, he began his journey as an entrepreneur through Hypecentury Technologies, a web hosting technology, which he later sold for a 6 digital price tag. Now, Mubarak spends his time tinkering with his new idea, Zagace. The cloud based software organizes company tasks such as payroll, accounting, and company budgets.
2. Affiong Williams, 29: Nigeria
Founder of Reelfruit, a fruit packaging company focused on packaging and branding local fruits in a safe and reliable way. Reelfruit has made a presence in over 80 supermarkets all over Nigeria and has won 2 awards in the Netherlands and in Nigeria. Affiong pushes herself to the max and hopes to expand Reelfruit internationally.
3. Arthur Zang, 27: Cameroon
Zang noticed the problem of African patients living in rural areas having to travel to urban areas to receive medical attention. Distance can be life or death in a medical emergency. In response, he invents Cardiopad, a medical tablet (like an ipad) that preforms heart examinations much like an ECG. The device then sends the information electronically to medical professionals who can interpret them and suggest treatments. Zang is also the owner and founder of Himore Medical Equipments.
4. Julie Alexander Fourie, 28: South Africa
In his dorm room at the University of Stellenbosch, Julie would repair the small devices of colleagues for fun. With encouragement from his friends, he starts iFix, an organization that fixes all Apple and Samsung smart phones. Today, the company employs 40 people and serves more than 4,000 clients a month.
5. Ludwick Marishane, 25: South Africa
Asked by a friend in High School, “why doesn’t someone invent something that you can put on your skin and then you don’t have to bathe?”, Ludwick invents DryBath, a gel that provides all the effects of a bath without the need for water. Ludwick was later voted the best student entrepreneur in the world by Entrepreneurs Organization and declared one of the most intelligent young brains in the universe by Google.
See all 30 entrepreneurs here: 30 Under 30
A few years ago, Chase Adam was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when a woman boarded the bus and began asking for donations for her child’s medical treatment. Because panhandling is so prevalent in that area of the world, Adam was shocked to see all of the natives give the women money for her child. He realized the natives believed this woman because she had the child’s information and had established a sense of trust with them. Inspired, Adam returned to the United States with the goal of starting a non-profit to provide healthcare around the world.
