The Sankalp Forum, an initiative of Intellecap, recently hosted its 8th Edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit, from the 2nd to 4th March 2021. The event was an inclusive virtual networking platform focusing on entrepreneurship and the impact investing ecosystem.
Some key highlights of the summit include
- Awarding of the top three most innovative young entrepreneurs in Africa
- Sharing of sector insights on rebuilding a resilient universally accessible health system capable of rapidly detecting, assessing and reporting.
- Rebuilding robust local institutions in Africa to attain globally competitive levels post COVID-19.
- Eliminating social and economic injustices to improve equity across populations.
Each year the Summit recognizes and rewards high-impact enterprises in the Africa region that are keen to tackle key development challenges. The finalists pitch their projects to a jury panel comprising eminent business leaders and investors.
This year’s finalists were Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Center, MamaPrime, and KIRI EV from Kenya, EcoV and Iyeza Health from South Africa, OBRI from Tanzania, Masaka Creamery from Rwanda and MaTontine from Senegal.
The 2021 Sankalp Africa Awards winner was Iyeza Health, a healthcare start-up from South Africa that collects and delivers high-cost and critical chronic medication. The medication delivered caters for different illnesses including HIV, diabetes and cancer treatment drugs from public health facilities to patients, through a bicycle delivery service. The service is called Iyeza Express.
Iyeza Express has been able to transport several boxes at a time to more patients at a faster rate, hence saving lives. Currently, Iyeza delivers medication to over 1,000 people in Khayelitsha, Cape Town and employs local residents as specialized chronic medicine delivery service.
In second position was Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Center), a Kenya electronic waste management start-up. The Centre offers safe disposal of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) service in accordance with NEMA waste regulations. WEE’S goal is to run an enterprise that protects both the environment and public health.
The Second Runner Up was OBRI Tanzania, an Agri-Food start-up from Tanzania that focuses on processing and supplying healthier edible oils. The company produces a 100% natural low price sunflower cooking oil called OBRI that is supplied to millions of families across the country.
“Sankalp Forum is one of our largest initiatives that aims to bring the community together to help solve the problems that face us through cutting-edge innovation and high potential entrepreneurship. Sankalp today, in its 8th year in Africa, brought to the world a post COVID-19 view of economic resurgence and resilience, thereby demonstrating our ability to drive action and influence outcomes,” said Arielle Molino, Sankalp Lead and AVP Intellecap Africa.
The Summit, engaged over 1,200 stakeholders, from more than 40 countries around the world, including participants from 30 African countries.