By Audrey Kyanova

 

In Africa, business is booming. Africa has long been a rich continent, but the number of new startups is rising. The owners of these businesses are not all older people either. Many are young entrepreneurs with a lot of ambition.

These young company leaders are taking the business world by storm. They are leading the push for new innovations in business, technology, and the creative arts. The businesses are also growing at fast rates, providing employment and great products and services for customers.

There is a high demand for innovation in Africa. And Africans are rising to meet that demand. Here are the top young entrepreneurs in Africa.

Etop Ikpe

Age: 30
Industry: Technology
Company: Cars45
Country: Nigeria

Etop Ikpe had a lot of experience in business prior to founding Cars45. He worked as the director for Konga, a large e-commerce platform in Nigeria. He also worked as the CEO of DealDey, which was the African version of “Groupon,” a popular company in the States.

Etop Ikpe founded Cars45. Cars45 is an e-commerce platform that focuses on used cars. If you want to sell your used car, Cars45 allows you to do so online. You fill out your car information, make an appointment with inspectors, get approved, and then you’re ready to sell.

 

Nkosana Mazibisa

Age: 27 
Industry: Business
Company: Mazibisa, Inc.
Country: Zimbabwe

Nkosana Mazibisa first got passionate about business and economics when he was in high school. In his debate class, the topic was about the economic downfall of Zimbabwe. Nkosana decided to try to fix that.

He opened his own public relations firm, Mazibisa, Inc. He ventured into mining briefly, but that did not work out. The brand consultancy firm took off, however. Mazibisa then decided to venture into food service. He opened an Indian restaurant that has also been very profitable.

Kayode Ojo

Age: 28
Industry: Creatives
Company: Martos Gallery
Country: Nigeria

Kayode Ojo is an artist. Ojo’s parents are professors in Nigeria, but he was born in the States. Kayode still identifies with his Nigerian heritage heavily. It has influenced his art. He has been able to book solo art shows in locations such as New York, Paris, Berlin, and Dallas.

Ojo’s art is contemporary. His medium is sculpture, photography, and installation. He works with both people and objects, often photographing people at the end of adolescence. His photographic shows usually feature photos of just one person in the frame.

 

Oluwatobi Ajayi

Age: 30
Industry: Business
Company: Jetvan Automobiles Ltd.
Country: Nigeria

Oluwatobi Ajayi received his education from Olabisi Onabanjo University. His degree was in Soil Sciences and Farm Mechanisation. So, it was an unusual turn of events for him when he founded Jetvan Automobiles Ltd. He decided to found the company after getting a job with Mercedes Benz in Nigeria.

Jetvan Auto Ltd. sells high-end Mercedes Benz Sprinters. Ajayi recognized the need for a large van that could provide transport for large cargo and groups of people, while still being classy and luxurious at the same time.

Adegoke Olubusi

Tito Ovia is the third founder of Helium Health. She was the only Nigerian woman to make the 2019 Forbes edition on entrepreneurship. Tito Ovia is a public health expert. She worked for Orbis in Mongolia. She also worked for the Lagos State AIDS Control Agency. Before her working career, she got her education in biomedical science.

Tito Ovia, like her cofounders, realized the need for digital health. Ovia founded Helium Health to improve outcomes for healthcare. She hopes, with Helium Health, to fill a much needed tech gap in Nigeria.

Nomzamo Mbatha

Age: 28
Industry: Creatives
Company: Tell Me Sweet Something
Country: South Africa

Nomzamo Mbatha is an actress from South Africa. She has won a nomination for her amazing talent at the African Academy Awards. Her Best Actress nomination stemmed from her role in Tell Me Sweet Something. Not only is Nomzamo an actress, she is also a UN Ambassador.

Nomzamo is an Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She works with refugees who have run from political strife and danger from their home countries. She does much of her work in Kenya. Her advice to people who want to help is to “Live a life of love.”

Yemi Alade

Age: 29
Industry: Creatives
Company: Mama Africa
Country: Nigeria

Yemi Alade is a famous Nigerian afropop singer. She is also a renowned songwriter. Yemi was born in Abis State. Her father is Yoruba, and he worked as a police commissioner. Her mother is of Igbo descent. Alade is one of seven children, and she has a degree in geography from the University of Lagos.

She gained notice for her musical talent in 2009 after winning Peak Talent Show. Yemi has released several albums. The latest is called Mama Africa. She has also performed onstage with American singer Mary J. Blige.

Taofeek Abijako

Age: 19
Industry: Business
Company: HEAD OF STATE
Country: Nigeria

Taofeek Abijako is the youngest member on this list. Taofeek just graduated high school. He was born in Nigeria in the city of Lagos. His father, like Taofeek himself, was a fashion designer. Taofeek was interested in painting and soccer in school before switching to design.

His story is pretty amazing. He created an entire fashion line in his room while he was in high school. He tweeted about his work, and a Japanese retailer called him not too long after. The fashion line, HEAD OF STATE, took off. Taofeek just recently presented at NYFW.

Age: 28
Industry: Business
Company: NFL
Country: Nigeria

Emmanuel Acho is a Nigerian athlete. He played football in America, even getting to play in the National Football League as a linebacker. Now, Acho works as an ESPN analyst. However his roles as an athlete and sports commentator are secondary to his humanitarian work.

Acho and his family are deeply involved in mission trips to Nigeria with their church. Acho’s parents formed Living Hope Christian Ministries, which delivers medical care to Nigerians. Acho continues to return to Nigeria, stating that he has lost count of how many times he has gone back to serve as a missionary.

Olaoluwa Osuntokun

Age: 25
Industry: Technology
Company: Lightning Labs
Country: Nigeria

Olaoluwa Osuntokun is a Nigerian immigrant who founded Lightning Labs. Osuntokun received an education from the University of California in Santa Barbara. His degree was Bachelor of Arts and Science. Olaoluwa became interested in the possibilities of digital transactions, and he decided to take that to the next level.

Lightning Labs, his company, seeks to make digital currencies easier to use. The company is a private protocol platform that lets people make private, fast transactions from anywhere in the world.  The company raised an astounding $2.5 million in funding during investment rounds.

Obinna Okwodu

Age: 27
Industry: Technology
Company: Fibre
Country: Nigeria

Obinna Okwodu was born in America, but he returned to Nigeria shortly after his birth. He is the son of Nigerian parents and one of three kids in his family. While he did return to America to get his degree at MIT in Massachusetts, he moved back to Lagos a year after obtaining it.

Obinna’s company, Fibre, wants to make life easier in Africa for middle-income tenants. In Lagos, landlords often make people pay two years’ rent upfront before allowing them to move in. Fibre lets people pay monthly to rent, making the rental process way easier.

Thuso Mbedu

Age: 27
Industry: Creatives
Company: Is’Thunzi
Country: South Africa

Thuso Mbedu is a famous actress from South Africa. Her most famous work is the telenovela Is’Thunzi. Her life before success was not easy. Mbedu did not have a relationship with her father, and, tragically, her mother died of a brain tumor when she was just four years old. Her grandmother raised her from then on, inspiring her to become a strong woman.

Mbedu first began acting on isiBaya in 2014. Since then, she has had several acting jobs, one of which landed her an Emmy nomination. She also won an award at the South African Film and Television Awards in 2017.

Gossy Ukanwoke

Age: 27
Industry: Technology
Company: Beni American University
Country: Nigeria

Gossy Ukanwoke received the nickname “Nigeria’s Mark Zuckerberg,” comparing him to the famous American Facebook founder. Ukanwoke decided to found his own university at the young age of 23. He got the idea from engaging with people who used his other business, Student’s Circle. Student’s Circle was a platform allowing people to access resources from major schools.

Many students wanted certificates that would help them with employment. So, Ukanwoke started Beni American University. BAU has ten instructors and two-hundred students so far. The web courses run twelve weeks, costing $100-$300.

Cassper Nyovest

Age: 28
Industry: Creatives
Company: Family Tree
Country: South Africa

Cassper Nyovest was born Refiloe Maele Phoolo. Casper is a famous African producer and artist. He grew up in Mafikeng and received his education from Lighthouse Christian College before dropping out in 2006. He first got into rap music when he was twelve years old. He got his big break when rapper HHP saw him perform.

Since then, Nyovest has worked with major recording artists from the states. Rappers like Nas, Talib Kweli, Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, and Kid Cudi have all performed with him. Cassper started his own record label, Family Tree, in 2014.

Ronke Bamisedun

Age: 31
Industry: Business
Company: BWL Agency
Country: Nigeria

Ronke Bamisedun is a powerhouse not just in public relations, but in fashion as well. She received her degree from Birmingham City University. Before that, she worked at a Lagos Butcher’s Store to earn extra money on the side. After getting an education, she began to work with major media stars in public relations.

She worked for the firm Grayling, a global PR agency. She was the head of the Nigerian team. She then opened her own firm, BWL Agency, a Grayling Affiliate. On top of all that, Ronke is planning to open SLKT Fashion, a budget fashion platform.

Nasir Yammama

Age: 26
Industry: Technology
Company: Verdant Agri-Tech
Country: Nigeria

Nasir was raised in Nigeria. His parents were farmers, and his siblings are also farmers too. Nasir attended MIT’s Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp as a way to combine his love of farmer and his business acumen. Nasir wanted to help farmers get into the tech age while still doing what they love. He founded Verdant Agri-Tech to help him do so.

Verdant Agri-Tech helps farmers increase and improve food production. VAT gives farmers market information, access to markets and financial services (especially important for rural farmers), and managerial support.

Fahad Awadh

Age: 31
Industry: Business
Company: YYTZ Agro
Country: Tanzania

Fahad Awadh was born in Tanzania but moved to Canada for a brief term before returning to Tanzania. Awadh saw a gap in the food market. He wanted to introduce sustainable farming and traceable farming methods into agriculture. He founded YYTZ Agro.

YYTZ Agro-Processing, based in Tanzania, processes cashew nuts. There were issues processing this popular food before, and the company is fixing them. Tanzania is a major cashew producer globally, and YYTZ has introduced more structure to that. YYTZ also provides jobs locally for people to work at processing plants.

Ladipo Lawani

Age: 29
Industry: Business
Company: L&L Foods
Country: Nigeria

Ladipo Lawani received an education from Knox University, and this education led him on a journey of “self discovery.” The young Nigerian entrepreneur noticed two major needs in his country: the need for a working Nigerian value chain and the need for young entrepreneurs. He founded an NGO to train young Nigerians to become entrepreneurs.

He met the first need by founding L&L Foods. L&L is a food processing company that produces a popular brand of groundnuts, Mr. Epka. Mr. Epka groundnuts do not have the harmful additives other brands do. They are also all produced in Nigeria.

Rahma Bajun

Age: 29
Industry: Creatives
Company: MnM Clothing Line
Country: Tanzania

Rahma Bajun is an amazing designer who took her love for African prints and made it into a company. Rahma is a mother of one who works for a civil agency while juggling her own clothing line, MnM. Rahma is also a youth activist. She works with young Africans to help them take charge of improving the African government. She hopes to get more young people engaged in politics.

MnM Clothing not only has clothing, but it also designs furniture. MnM uses beautiful African prints, taking bright colors and classic patterns and using them for modern, everyday clothing and home decor.

Emmanuel Ademola Ayilara

Age: 29
Industry: Technology
Company: LandWay Investment Ltd.
Country: Nigeria