Four young African entrepreneurs walked away with $10,000 grand prizes at the African Leadership Festival on August 5, as the Anzisha fellowship closed a landmark gathering that for the first time united three of the continent’s major talent-development networks under one roof.
The African Leadership Academy campus hosted close to 400 delegates from more than 180 organisations across 32 countries, marking the inaugural joint festival bringing together Anzisha, Africa Career Networks and African Leaders for Education.
Didi Onwu, Anzisha’s Head of Storytelling and Advocacy, framed the significance of the gathering:
“One ecosystem, many pathways, the spine of the festival highlights that Africa’s talent pipeline lives in education, entrepreneurship and career and for the first time, one festival brought all three into the same room.”
The festival’s second day ended with the announcement of Anzisha’s grand-prize fellowship winners, chosen after final pitches from young founders who identify community problems and create businesses with multiple revenue streams.
Systems of Delivery: Madagascar’s Talent Pipeline to Europe and Canada
Myriame Andriamampianina of Madagascar won the Systems of Delivery prize, recognising the operational infrastructure a founder builds to scale.
Her company, Code-Talent, developed a placement engine that connects Madagascar’s francophone developers with employers in Europe and Canada, using a consistent five-step process from sourcing to retention. In Madagascar, over 100,000 young people compete yearly for about 34,000 formal jobs.
That system has since branched into four revenue lines across four markets and Andriamampianina has opened a Canadian subsidiary, Code-Talent Canada.
“Talent is everywhere,” she said. “Opportunity is not.”
Revenue Growth: Mozambique’s Training Business Scales Margins
Leu Balate of Mozambique took the Revenue Growth prize, awarded for the sharpest rise in profitability across the cohort.
In May 2026, Futurist Group reported monthly revenue of $5,156, with a profit of $1,959 at a 38% margin, up from about $200 in January. Balate achieved this growth by diversifying from a single training course to a portfolio that includes open courses, corporate training, geoscience consultancy and government partnerships, all managed through a self-built CRM system.
More than 800 people have now trained through Futurist across upwards of 15 organisations.
“Africa has the land. It has the people. It has the potential,” Balate said. “Futurist Group brings the technology and knowledge to transform this potential into real prosperity.”
Job Creation: Algeria’s Study Platform Bets on Gender Equity
Abdelouahab Krim of Algeria won the Job Creation prize for BAC Students, a study network platform now used by 130,000 people across Africa.
Direct jobs tied to the platform have grown 900% since June 2024, and more than 3,000 teachers now earn income through it.
Krim’s growth strategy relies on a licensing model that creates new jobs in each market, guided by a gender equity policy. This has raised the percentage of hires who are women under 25 from 50% to 90%, with many securing their first income through these roles.
“Nobody is hired on a feeling,” Krim said. “Every salary comes out of sales.”
Storytelling: Malawi’s Cluster of Ventures Built on Community Talent
Hope German of Malawi won the Storytelling prize, recognising the fellow who used narrative and communication most effectively to build visibility and momentum for their venture.
German’s Aeon Cultural Creatives emerged from the belief that her community had untapped intelligence and skills, leading to ventures in education, entrepreneurship and mental health awareness aimed at empowering individuals and bridging educational gaps.
“The problem isn’t that we celebrate exceptional founders,” German said. “It’s that we make entrepreneurship look like a lottery for the extraordinary, when it’s a pathway an ordinary young person can actually walk.”
Anzisha operates as more than a fellowship, running research, storytelling and programming, including its FAST and Build initiatives designed to create the conditions for very young entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses, with founders’ journeys documented through the YouTube docuseries “The Journey.”
Applications for Anzisha’s next cohort open in October 2026, with further details available at anzisha.org.
