Café Africa

They have African origin, they have studied abroad, but 70% of them come back to their country. This is what happens to the best minds of the continent, who start betting on their own land, giving rise to entrepreneurial initiatives that arise from the needs of the population.

A formula to combine business, development and support to marginalized communities with innovative and feasible solutions. The Harambe Entrepreneurship Alliance, which brings together 31 African countries and 120 universities in the world, works in this direction, promoting the best business ideas, proposed by students of African origin and able to generate a positive impact on African society.

A few days ago in Rome, Competere, with John Cabot University and Institute for Entrepreneurship, hosted nine young entrepreneurs, who have exhibited their projects.

• Mr. Ukwuani, from Nigeria and armed with a degree from MIT, has bridged a gap of knowledge for his country and his university with the Exposure Robotics League  (www.expsourerobotics.com), a five-week summer program exposing secondary school Nigerians to robotics, and educating young minds in creativity and technical problem-solving skills.

• Mr. Imende, a University of North Carolina graduate from Kenya, has designed Enzi Footwear, a premium, versatile, casual shoe brand of (www.enzifootwear.com). Enzi Footwear is marketed as 100% African foot-wear using world-class sheepskin leather.

• Ms. Moreira, a Cambridge University graduate from South Africa, has launched MoWoza, (www.mowoza.com), a simple-to-use mobile e-commerce service that eliminates long and costly logistics, and minimizes corruption with officials.

• Ms. Mushavi, a Harvard University graduate from Zimbabwe, empowers HIV-positive women in rural Uganda with Poultry Microentreprises. The women are given a chicken to farm, and in turn they have the ability to make a living income. This initiative studies the impact of economic empowerment on health indicators as well as the outcome of HIV treatment.

• Mr. Ly, an MIT graduate from Senegal, assembled True Mobile Africa, a free mobile directory that aims to put 100,000 bottom-of-the-pyramid African professionals on the map within 12 months. It will enable the informal economy of painters, carpenters, hairdressers to advertise and connect with their clients.

• Ms. Shah, a City University London graduate from Kenya, broke away from her earlier corporate banking career and created her own fashion label, Maisha Concept (www.maishaconcept.com), in Hong Kong.  She has taken a road less traveled to design African-inspired fashion, and has  expanded her distribution into Spain.

• Ms. Rabana, a University of Cape Town graduate from Botswana, has been recognized by Forbes as one of Africa’s Best Young Entrepreneurs for Rekindle Learning, (www.rekindlelearning.com) an educational mobile application that provides school learners with greater personal control and ownership of their learning process.

• Mr. Bello, an Oxford University graduate from Nigeria, was recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative for his leadership, rendered at the Wennovation Hub (www.wennovationhub.com), through service consultations to start ups and existing entrepreneurs  in areas of administrative, technical, managerial and financial matters.

• Mr. Milandri, an Oxford University graduate from from South Africa with Italian roots, has improved healthcare in South Africa with the Connected Blood Pressure Solution, which provides a low-cost means for people to remotely record their blood pressure and delivers accurate statistics to inform health care providers.