3 Nigeria Brands in Top 10 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship Finalists

Following face-to-face interviews with each of the 15 semi-finalists, the judges of the 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, one of the continent’s most prestigious business awards have selected ten companies to go through to the final round and make a live presentation to an elite panel of judges in Nairobi on December 6th. With US$ 400,000 in prize funds to be won, the competition is hotter than ever.

The award which is in its fourth successful year recognizes and rewards African business leaders who embody the entrepreneurial spirit and demonstrate the qualities required to succeed in business. It is to celebrate the standards of business excellence and to promote the value of entrepreneurship as a driving force of today’s Africa organized by Legatum, a private international investment group, and Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm.

Chocolate City Group, Pepperoni Foods Limited and First Atlantic Semiconductors and Microelectronics Nigeria Limited from Nigeria make it to the final ten.

Chocolate City

Other finalists are Cellular Systems International from Senegal, SECURICO from Zimbabwe, Expand Technology (Holding) Limited from Mauritius; soleRebels from Ethiopia, Unique Solutions Company Limited from Gambia, InvesteQ Capital Limited from Kenya and Victoria Seeds Limited from Uganda.

The 2011 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship builds upon the highly successful 2010 programme, which included over 2,700 entries received from 15 countries and 18 different industry sectors; 250 business leaders and influencers attended the Gala Awards Event; and 10 finalists from Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda were recognized. Since 2007, the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship programme has grown from five countries to including every country in Africa.

A high-profile one-day conference on entrepreneurship, CONVERGENCE: AFRICA, headlined by a globally-recognized champion of entrepreneurship, will precede the Gala Awards banquet on December 8th in Nairobi. The 2011 Africa Awards will conclude by honouring the ten finalists and winners in the presence of an international audience of leading business people, investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.

For the first time, the Africa Awards was open to entries from every country in Africa. Owners of profitable, growing enterprises (with annual revenues between US$1 - 15 million) where asked to submit entries online at www.AfricaAwards.com. to be considered for the awards.