Celebrating organisations using entrepreneurship to innovate the African education field

In Africa, the continent home to the largest youth population in the world, educators face a critical challenge: how to teach an ever-growing number of students using limited resources while also helping young people develop skills for the future.

Entrepreneurship is a resourceful approach to funding education while also giving students and out-of-school youth a platform for gaining real-life professional experience.

Now, organisations providing young people with hands-on business experience or using community-based business solutions to fund education have the chance to win up to $15,000 USD for their work through the Pan-African Awards for Enterprise in Education.

For over 10 years, The Pan-African Awards have recognised and celebrated organisations harnessing entrepreneurship to improve the quality and relevancy of education across Africa. The awards are generously supported by The Saville Foundation in South Africa and managed by Teach A Man To Fish: an international NGO tackling poverty and youth unemployment through entrepreneurship and youth-led school business programmes.

With a focus on sustainability, the competition looks to award organisations with a history of benefiting young people while also looking to continue and grow their impact in the future.

Last year’s winners, the Batonga Foundation, were selected for their innovative “Girls' Club" programme, which equips the hardest-to-reach girls and women in Benin with the knowledge and skills they need to be agents of change in their own lives and communities. Now they are using their prize funds to open their programmes to younger girls, which they estimate will double their number of participants!

Past winners have also included a microcredit association to support orphans and vulnerable children in Burundi, as well as a circus company offering students performing arts business training. But whether it is a multinational NGO or a community business, all winners have demonstrated a commitment to educating and empowering young Africans.

“Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit isn’t just about making money right now; it’s about learning how to come up with innovative solutions for tomorrow,” says Nik Kafka, Founder and CEO of Teach A Man To Fish. “Each year, the Awards are an exciting chance to recognise and reward more organisations harnessing entrepreneurship to inspire and enable young people in Africa, and this year will be no exception.”

Applications are open until August 14th, 2018 for the chance to win a top prize of $15,000 USD and two runner-up prizes of $5,000 USD each. One organisation will also be selected for the Future Partner Prize: an opportunity to partner with Teach A Man and win $5,000 to implement the School Enterprise Challenge with their network of schools.

To apply, visit http://teachamantofish.org.uk/pan-african-awards and complete the simple online application form. Submitting an application is free of charge and is open to all organisations with programmes or projects in Africa.