Barely a couple of months after making Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30 most promising young entrepreneurs local entrepreneur Knight Ganje has again made the list for 100 most influential young Africans by Africa Youth Awards (AYA). Ganje, who is director of H&G Advertising agency said he was humbled by the recognition. He attributed his nomination to the entrepreneurship mentorship workshops and summit he has conducted across the region and through social media as well as his continued growth as an entrepreneur. He recently launched yet another acquisition, Professional Branding Botswana (PBB).
Twenty four year old Siyanda Mohutsiwa, who describes herself as a pan-Africanist has also made the list. She is well known for her satirical writing and speaking having given TEDex talks around the world. Mohutsiwa’s satirical hashtag #IfAfricaWasABar, which pondered the hypothetical bar mannerisms of various African nations, went viral. It became a platform for Africans to unite in a playful dialogue on national differences, and helped turn Mohutsiwa into a social media celebrity.
“In its vision of recognizing young achievers across the African continent, Africa Youth Awards has released its 2nd annual list of the 2017 100 Most Influential Young Africans, an initiative which is noted to be the biggest and most respected across the continent with participation from over 140 countries globally,” says a statement from AYA.
“Prince Akpah, President of Africa Youth Awards told noted the exceptionality of this year’s list which he said has an unprecedented gender representation of 45 women and 55 men, which he noted as a great move to inspire more young women in Africa and across the world to reach out for their dreams,” says a statement from the organization.
The organization says the list ,which was restricted to age limits between 15 and 36 had a coverage of 28 countries on the continent with Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya leading with 19, 18, 10, 8 representatives respectively. Ganje is the only Botswana based nominee.
“The list was compiled and approved by the Awards Jury made up of young Africans from across globe after public nominations were received and reviewed.” Profiles of all the 100 nominees in the list are published on the organization’s website.
Those who made the list include South Africa’s controversial politician and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, SA musicians Cassper Nyovest, AKA, DjZinhle, Nasty C as well as socialite and television personality BonangMatheba, Olympic MedalistCaster Semenya ,and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune. Other top African musicians who made the list include Diamond Platinumz, Davido, and Wizkid. Top European Leagues based players Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Borussia Dortmund), Sadio Mane (Liverpool) were also included.
