Anzisha Prize publishes report on young African entrepreneurs

Officials from the Anzisha Prize recently published a report that highlights the challenges and successes of young African entrepreneurs.

The report is based on an e-mail survey of 15- to 25-year-old African business owners. Roughly half of the respondents said financing was their greatest challenge, with just under one-third reporting any outside investment. Approximately 41 percent of respondents also said small business support in their country was poor or very poor.

 “African Leadership Academy is excited to be investing in research such as this,” Vice President of Global Programmes at African Leadership Academy Josh Adler said. “It is our hope that this and future reports will guide the work of teachers, policy makers and other stakeholders in the youth development sector.”

The report also found that 83 percent of respondents were reaching and attracting customers primarily through word of mouth.

The full report is available at AnzishaPrize.org/resources/anzisha-youth-entrepreneurship-survey-2016.

The Anzisha Prize offers $100,000 plus additional support each year to a selected 15- to 22-year-old African entrepreneur.