Kampala 06 October, 2018 The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is pleased to announce the 23 winners of the 2018 RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition. The competition attracted a total of 1,332 applicants from 42 African and 4 non-African countries. The following process was undertaken to identify the top 23 winners for the 2018 cohort:
- All 1,332 applications were screened for compliance to the set guidelines.
- All 1,332 applications were evaluated by 3 experts in the first phase leading to 3,996 reviews undertaken.
- Top 233 (17.5%) of all the applicants were selected for second level of evaluation by business leaders, leading to 699 reviews.
- A shortlist of 23 (9.9%) applicants were selected as the final winners of the 2018 RUYEC cohort.
- A decision to select 23 instead of 20 as earlier communicated in the call was guided by the fact that there was a tie among four applicants. The overall selection cut-off mark was 79 percent.
Final Winners of the 2018 RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition
| No | Name | Gender | Country | Thematic Area |
| 1 | Japhet Sekenya | Male | Tanzania | Agribusiness |
| 2 | Udekwe Chinedu Martins | Male | Nigeria | Green Economy |
| 3 | Joseph Manzvera | Male | Zimbabwe | ICTs |
| 4 | Jean Anthony Onyait | Male | Uganda | ICTs |
| 5 | Ashiraf Nsibambi Kyabainze | Male | Uganda | Agribusiness |
| 6 | Emanuel Ng’ambwa Kungu | Male | Tanzania | Agribusiness |
| 7 | Mark Matovu Ssebijwenge | Male | Uganda | Agribusiness |
| 8 | Melissa Bime | Female | Cameroon | Health |
| 9 | Roy Mwangi Ombatti | Male | Kenya | Engineering |
| 10 | Akwasi Armah Tagoe | Male | Ghana | Agribusiness |
| 11 | Towenan A. Theodore Ahimakin | Male | Benin | Transport |
| 12 | Fred David | Male | Kenya | Green Economy |
| 13 | Murtala Muhammad | Male | Ghana | Green Economy |
| 14 | Paul Matovu | Male | Uganda | Agribusiness |
| 15 | Helen Opeyemi Balogun | Female | Nigeria | Agribusiness |
| 16 | Clement Kandodo | Male | Malawi | Green Economy |
| 17 | Elvis K. Amoua | Male | Benin | Agribusiness |
| 18 | Jacob Maina | Male | Kenya | Health |
| 19 | Lahbib Latrach | Male | Morocco | Engineering |
| 20 | Nabuuma Shamim Kaliisa | Female | Uganda | Health |
| 21 | Davies Nyaigero Ateka | Male | Kenya | Agribusiness |
| 22 | Sebarinda Cyusa Patrick | Male | Rwanda | Agribusiness |
| 23 | Sidje Tamo Armelle | Female | Cameroon | Agribusiness |
This year’s competition builds on the inaugural one, which was organised in 2016 and attracted 756 applications from 38 countries. Ten (10) most competitive youth enterprises were awarded prizes during the Fifth Africa Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference held in October 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa.
The 23 winners selected this year, are invited to the Sixth African Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference from 22 to 26 October, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, and will receive their awards on 26th October, 2018.
RUFORUM thanks all the applicants who responded to the 2018 RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition call, and extends appreciation to all reviewers that were able to undertaken a total of 4,695 reviews in the last one and half months.
Download the complete release here Finalists Young Innovators 2018_
