Below are the profiles  of the 2020 Africa Youth Awards nominees for the Leader of the Year

Category Definition:

This category is designated to a young African delegated to lead an organisation or campaign and has distinguished him/herself through the show of exceptional leadership qualities with a dream, passion and obligation to achieve and impact more.

NB: Profiles were submitted by nominators

NOMINEES:

 

ANDREWS OFOSUHENE

Rotary Club of Accra-East Andrews is an Award-Winning Volunteer with a knack for continual improvement in all he does. Andrews manages the Business Development Unit of the Wi Tech Group in East-Legon; an organisation with business interest in Oil and Gas, Printing, Toothpick Manufacturing and Travel &Tours. He is the Vice President for SOL Network an organisation aimed at developing Strategic support systems to improve the machinery of Education, Leadership and National Development.

He is also a Past President of the Rotaract Club of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), a Past National Coordinator for Rotaract Ghana and a Past District Rotaract Representative for Rotaract District 9102 (Ghana, Togo, Benin and Niger). Through his volunteer work and the teams’ works, he has been part of at least 99 projects and a volunteer of over 3540 hours which has impacted the lives of tens of thousands of people from all walks of life.

He has won several awards within Rotaract UPSA, Rotaract Ghana, as well as the Rotaract District level. Andrews Graduated with a First Class in Diploma in Management and a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) and Currently Studying MSc. in Defence and International Politics at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College.

 

 

AVUYILE MBANGATHA

#BreakingBarriers Campaign

Avuyile is an innovative, community-orientated Student Intern Doctor (final year Medicine), food security and health activist who grew up in a community where social issues were rife, which motivated him to pursue Medicine. He is the founder of the #BreakingBarriers Campaign- an initiative that works with local orphanages in Cape Town collects food and clothes for homeless individuals and ensuring that the less fortunate receive a meal 3 times a week as a way of addressing food insecurity and poverty. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected high school students this year, Avuyile took the initiative to donate study guides and tutored Mathematics and Physical Sciences to students from disadvantaged areas to ensure that they venture in STEM-relate careers and to ensure that their studies were not affected. For the past 6 years, Avuyile strived to be an advocate for social change, equality and justice, food security and health. From 2014-2016, he developed a fertilizer and community initiative that aimed to enhance food security, poverty, and nutrition in rural areas. It was also discovered that it was a natural pesticide meaning crops could be grown organically, minimizing environmental impacts posed by artificial fertilizers. This initiative earned him a spot among the 2015 Top 30 World young Innovators at the INTEL ISEF Science Fair in Pittsburgh, USA.  He further served as a member of the Washington Society for Science and the Public, which is an international non-profit organization that encourages and invests in STEM in developing countries and supporting underprivileged communities. He is currently a Head Tutor-Mentor at his university as he is a firm believer that education and student success are key drivers of the economy and that education is an essential tool that we can use to change the World.  In 2019, he served as global ambassador- represented South Africa in Singapore, where he had the honour of launching a campaign that would make use of eco-friendly ways to increase food security and promote environmental health as well as working with a group that looked at ways of tackling Human Trafficking, Gender Inequality and promoting equality and justice. Furthermore, he represented Africa in New York in 2019, whereby he engaged with various stakeholders on how to approach mental health issues in the university context as well as ways that can increase students venturing into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) -related careers. These initiatives earned him a spot among the 2019 SADC Top 100 Leaders; was nominated to be on the 2019 UN Most Influential Global Top 100 under 40 List and recognized as South Africa’s 2019 Mandela Young Leader. This year, he was invited to represent Africa in Bangkok, Thailand at the Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.

 

HEBA ASSEM ADEL MOHAMED

Guardians of AfroArab Leadership

Heba Assem is an Egyptian researcher in African studies and an active advocate for pan Africanism. She holds a postgraduate diploma in Crisis and Conflicts management in Africa from Faculty from African Post Graduate Studies, Cairo University. Within this program, she focused her studies on the African conflicts, the Post Conflicts Reconstruction and Development, Preventive Diplomacy, Early Warning System and the role of the AU towards the refugees. Also, she is a trainer of the first batch of African Presidential Leadership Program APLP at the National Training Academy in Egypt, through which she was responsible for workshops, which focused on Post Conflicts Reconstruction and Development from several perspectives such as, the Youth role in these operations and how we can involve them.           “During the Crisis of COVID–19, Heba started to give online lectures of leadership skills to benefit her young African fellows voluntarily. She is now a lecturer at several African online leadership schools and institutions. In these programs, she tried to merge her studies of peace & security with leadership. She has trained up to 800 young African leaders across Africa to be leaders and peacemakers in their communities. She also raises awareness against terrorism polarization and gender discrimination within her training programs.

She is working as a Steering Committee member at World Youth Forum, which is an international event held annually in Egypt to gather youth from all around the world to discuss and share thoughts about the recent hot issues in the world. She believed that the way for permanent and sustainable peace in our region is the dialogue. That’s why in 2018, she gathered more than 100 young leaders from Africa and the Arab region in the Model of Arab African Summit to discuss the common challenges and how to promote peacebuilding through integration.

In recognition of her work, Heba was awarded the Young African Leaders Awards 2019 for outstanding Visionary Leadership and dedication to the community and nation-building in The Gambia.”

 

 

JOACHIM MABULA

Tiba Fasta

Joachim Mabula is a medical doctor, public health specialist, entrepreneur, and wellness advocate with extensive experience in the health sector, having worked in the public & private sector as well as a health journalist, data analyst, and project manager. He is also a Health Promotion Champion; through a hashtag #ElimikaWikiendi on Twitter, he always discusses health issues that most people experience in their lives and equips them with the knowledge on how to tackle them including how they can protect themselves from various diseases and infections. Every Saturday, his session reaches 1 million people from different places. He is verified on Twitter with more than 322,000 followers and actively use the platform to share and bring awareness on issues revolving around maternal health, child development, and adolescence. He also uses other social media networks like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, where all of them have more than 60,000 followers. He has leveraged technology to found Tiba Fasta, which is a public health-based startup that is bridging the gap between the public and healthcare providers and hence improving people’s health and well-being. His initiative is working on SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. World Health Organization (WHO) has promulgated a desirable doctor–population ratio as 1:1,000. Over 44% of WHO Member States reported less than one physician per 1,000 population. According to the World Health Organization, the Tanzanian doctor-to-patient ratio stands at one doctor for every 20,000 patients. Due to the challenge of insufficient medical practitioners in Tanzania, his service has been widely impacting thousands of people. I have reached more than 1,000,000 women and 700,000 men who have given feedback and asked questions about maternal health via social media networks and local newspapers

He is verified on Twitter with more than 322,000 followers and actively use the platform to share and bring awareness on issues revolving around maternal health, child development, and adolescence.

His startup has received prizes from the University of Manchester.

 

 

KITSO BAPAKI

YALI RLC SA Botswana Chapter Committee

Kitso Bapaki is a passionate activist, a development volunteer since 2006. Enjoying a successful career full of achievements working in Leadership Positions and leading development projects.

Kitso completed Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education at Lotsane Senior Secondary School then went through short courses like; Basic ICT under Botswana National Library Services, Business Management under Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Creative Entrepreneurs Masterclass Series under Spark Ideas Group, Civic Leadership and other online short courses under YALI RLC SA Training and Youth Leadership Training Programme 2018 of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Kitso achieves a certificate of appreciation as Facilitator and Volunteer under Gender Perspectives in Senior Schools, as Community Volunteer at Kukubjwe Primary School and award as the best community leadership and business during 2016 under 40 Young Batswana 50 Change Makers awards.

For now, he is self-employed running his own offices for Ceart Investments and Chasa Holdings (Pty) Ltd also being Youth Business Chapter Chairperson under Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Palapye District Office and Networking & Events Coordinator under Botswana Chapter Committee.

Significant Achievments are:

  • Certificate of appreciation as Facilitator and Volunteer under Gender Perspectives in Senior Schools
  • Certificate of appreciation as a Community Volunteer at Kukubjwe Primary School
  • Award as the best community leadership and business during 2016 under 40 Young Batswana 50 Change Makers awards. “

 

 

 

LILIAN WILBRORD KAYOMBO

Africa Union Commission

Lilian Kayombo is a member of Africa Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction representing EAC Region and holds a Master degree of Science in Health System Management from the Mzumbe University in Tanzania. Ms Kayombo serves as communication lead of the Executive Committee of the board and also is the manager of the board’s official Instagram page. Ms Kayombo has extensive experience in youth engagement on the environment, disaster management and Sustainable Development Goals.

She is a member of the United Nations Chapter at Mzumbe University, Tanzania.  The chapter promotes environmental activism and DRR activities. Due to her passion and interest in DRR, she has contributed significantly to DRR activities such as tree planting.

Currently, she is a member of the ONE champion campaign, which is a campaign that has the vision to eliminate extreme poverty and significantly reduce diseases by 2030. Ms Kayombo is the founder of Lilianne Foundation which promotes health-related disaster management in Ruvuma, Tanzania. The foundation educates young people on HIV prevention and Malaria Control. Besides, the foundation facilitates tree planting exercise and promotes activism on Gender based violence.

In accomplishing her roles as EAC representative, Ms Kayombo is interesting to meaningfully engage with Youth-led organizations, Non-Governmental Organisation (NGOs), students in both secondary and Universities and the government on the issue of DRR and sustainable development. She is also interested in facilitating capacity building and knowledge exchange in DRR with the young people in East Africa.

  • Meaningful Youth engagement via webinar such as Regional Online “Talk” on Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, IGAD webinar on desertification Day 2020. Also involved in Twitter chat as one was to facilitate capacity building on Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Organizing SADC Youth Forum 2020, being a co-chair of the Media and Communication Committee and as a result, the forum went well
  • Advocacy on health-related issues especially HIV and AIDS
  • Conducted researches such as Barriers of HIV testing and Counseling uptake among men and challenges facing pregnant mothers in accessing free health services in Tanzania
  • Involve in AYAB ( Africa Youth Advisory Board on Disaster Risk Reduction) campaign on COVID19
  • Formed student clubs for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

 

 

 

LUCY WANJIKU NJENGA

Positive Young Women Voices

Lucy Wanjiku Njenga the Founder and team leader of Positive Young Women Voices, a grassroots community-based organization in Nairobi that works to empower adolescent girls and young women living with or affected by HIV to live their full potential. She is the African Delegate in the UNAIDS NGO Delegation to the PCB and serves as the Alternate Board Member in the Country Coordinating Mechanism to the Global Fund representing people living with HIV. She wears many hats nationally and internationally.

Her feminist dream is to live in a world that her daughter and all women and girls enjoy gender equality and equity and can go for and be anything they want to be and do.”

  • 2019 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans
  • Plenary Speaker at International AIDS 2020 Conference along with Dr Fauci and Ambassador Birx.
  • Founder of Sauti Skika, the first network of adolescent and young people living with HIV in Kenya.
  • NASCOP Community Service Award – Inspiration to Adolescent Girls and Young Women
  • Represented Africa in the UNAIDS NGO Delegation.

 

 

 

LYDIA HLONGWANE

I.C.A.R.E. Organisation

Lydia Hlongwane is a Young confident, caring and a virtuous young woman who stands up for what is right. A philanthropist of note. She completed her Secondary school and postgraduate studies passing with great results attached with great accolades of merit in public speaking, poetry writing and few subjects. She is an entrepreneur, the founder of an organisation called I.C.A.R.E, a life coach, a leadership maestro for South Africa and motivational speaker.

She worked in the public management department as a learner assistant for the two years she served in the Student committee then worked for the City of Tshwane metropolitan municipality at Local Economic Development department in partnership with Operation Hope. he is responsible for campaigns pertaining every social issue which can affect the youth and the country as a whole, for example, anti-rape, anti-xenophobia, anti-discrimination, children and women’s rights and any campaign which deals with HIV/AIDS, cancer and any other diseases. She is also helping young women get over their pain from such instances and help them recuperate so they can move on and get a better life for themselves as well as young men who have been through the same with the help of professionals qualified to help.

She is also currently working on projects such as Changing lives foundation as a partner in raising R3 million for school uniform and airing a reality show which will address real issues and come up with solutions to certain social issues addressed in the show. he three achievements that stand out as a highlight in the work that she does is the “Treat Her Like A Queen Campaign”- giving girls an opportunity to experience life out of the rural area by treating them to a gala dinner, gifts and pampering as well for their matric farewell.” The groom a child campaign” where she does sexual orientation talks at schools and during covid 19 season shes still ensuring the kids are getting their toiletries and get a sense of love, And the” Rare disease fundraising campaign”. Which helps young people who are diagnosed with rare diseases get transplants, specialised care from Milpark and Sunninghill hospital as well as the equipment they need to survive until operation dates with the help of Gauteng department of health and other immediate family members. This has gone on without any financial assistance but rather from her immediate family, her own pocket and a great law firm that decided to support her dreams.

Lydia was nominated and awarded a few awards namely, Nominee of Inspiring Fifty awards in 2018 and received the Owami Woman award as well as the Mandela of the Future award 2018.she received a presidential award 2019, selected as one of the 100 Top SA Ambassadors for 2020 and an award by the Africa Brand Summit 2020. She recently received a woman of wonder award 2020, Became of the faces of change 2020 by Ackermans and made it to the Hall of Heroes 2020 by Assupol life. She is one of the young African Leadership Initiative fellows and the Brand South Africa Ambassador to play your part.

 

NONO CELE XABA

Supersport International

Nono Cele Xaba is an intelligent, vibrant and ambitious young woman with a zest for life.

Nono is one of the very few women behind the scenes of sports broadcasting at Supersport international, producing content and working on projects such as Africa Cup of Nations, FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup etc.

Nono’s passions don’t end there, she has been the powerhouse behind training and upskilling empowering others. In 2013, she was granted an opportunity to run and oversee a project called the Multichoice Diski challenge where she was responsible for training over 20 young people on camera and behind the scenes, that project has produced over 50 young professionals since.

With over 10 years of experience, Nono is not only a charismatic leader and mentor, but she is also a focused Outside Broadcast director where is paving the way for other young female directors.

Nono is also an entrepreneur, who started her own body care company, Salt and Light, in 2018. She not only makes products of the highest quality, she is also giving back to the community and collaborating with other entrepreneurs to provide sanitary pads for young women in disadvantaged areas.

 

SUCEX BRIGHT

Africa Youth Leadership & Economic Summit Group

Sucex Bright has distinguished himself as a trailblazer and a social change-maker.

He excelled as a banker and a product marketer. His work history includes Finance staff at Shell Nigerian Gas, Marketer at Finbank, Administrative Manager at Mek Oil & Gas and later on Mekatrice Diagnostics Ltd where he brokered a partnership deal between Newham University Teaching Hospital East London and Mekatrice Diagnostics Limited.

Sucex consults for several high-profile organizations around the world. In 2010 he became the youngest Director at Integral OD, a Management Consulting firm in the United Kingdom and Italy, where he overseas West African Region developing training programs for middle-level Managers.

In 2014, Sucex became the Business Development Manager at London Academy Business School for Nigerian Business. He was later the same year appointed The Country coordinator for Africa Youth Chamber of Commerce & Investment – an umbrella body for Youth Entrepreneurs in Africa and then confirmed a Director in 2017.

Presently Sucex Bright consults for Partners in People Africa; Triple 7 events, ADAA Projects and Orange Hub by Alpha Morgan Capital.

Recently he ventured into event management/host and has handled jobs for Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential library, James Adekunle Ojelabi Foundation. Dotun Ojelabi 50th Birthday Colloquium.

He is the official host of Business Day Newspapers SME Clinic and Millennial Hangouts respectively, a monthly event series for SMEs and for millennials.

Sucex Bright was named “Most Inspiring Young person in Africa” at the Ghana Nigeria Achievers Award in Accra Ghana in 2017, In February 2020 he received young Director’s Award from International Educational Summit & Awards in Bangkok Thailand for his continuous innovation toward youth empowerment in Africa. In 2015 Bright was awarded Young Kids Ambassador for being a positive influence to young people at an award ceremony held at Golden Tulip Hotel & Conference Center in Lagos.

He is the founder of Africa Youth Leadership & Economic Summit, an emerging brand and an umbrella body for youth Entrepreneurs in Africa with conferences Hosted annually in different cities in Africa.

As a contributory columnist at Business Day and Guardian newspapers, Bright has written articles such as: Business opportunities in the coming decade will be created by Africans startups. Tackling Youth Restiveness and crime through Sports Entrepreneurship an AYLES solution.

He is also the publisher of My Africa Magazine which focuses on profiling successful leaders in Business, politics and the Economy.