AWIEF awards honours female African entrepreneurs and innovators

DURBAN - The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum annual AWIEF Awards honoured and celebrated the achievements of women entrepreneurs and innovators across the African continent.

The 2018 AWIEF Awards showcase a diverse representation of finalist entrepreneurs from across the continent, including countries like Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The awards have grown significantly from entries of just under 300 last year when the AWIEF Awards were launched, to 1200 this year.

Judges are drawn from thought leaders, decision makers and specialists in the various sectors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Irene Ochem the Founder and Chief Executive of AWIEF said, "It is with great pleasure, immense honour and a deep admiration, that we salute our 2018 AWIEF Awards finalists and winners who have sailed through AWIEF rigorous scrutiny to meet the prescribed criteria and, most importantly, for being a beacon of hope and inspiration in their communities and organisations".

Forty women founders and entrepreneurs were selected as finalists from 12 different African countries, across eight categories.

Winner of the AWIEF Awards Young Entrepreneur Award, Nomso Faith Kana, said Africa was enabling the Fourth Industrial Revolution and with its very young population, this is how the continent would thrive. Her startup, Sun n Shield 84 Technologies is a fibre optic cable manufacturing company.

Here is a list of the winners: