Judges Award: AfriFORTIFIED
Overview AfriFORTIFIED is a Kenyan food innovation hub that helps small food businesses grow by offering support to develop new products and funding to create prototypes. Its model offers early-stage funding for ingredient sourcing and product testing, enabling entrepreneurs to refine their products through multiple iterations until they achieve standardisation at the Kenya Industrial Research…
Impact Trailblazer of the Year: Evelyn Castle
Evelyn Castle is a pioneering health executive and impact investor whose career has been dedicated to strengthening Africa’s healthcare systems and advancing inclusive economic growth. Over the past 15 years, she has co-founded and led three mission-driven ventures – eHealth Africa, EHA Clinics and eHA Impact Ventures – that collectively address both the supply and…
Impact Enterprise of the Year: Cherehani Africa
Awarded to businesses that aim to generate profit and have positive social or environmental impact, that are solving some of the continent’s most entrenched social or environmental problems. Overview Cherehani is a Kenyan social enterprise that delivers innovative, tailored financial solutions to rural women entrepreneurs who are often excluded from traditional financial systems. Recognising that…
Financial Structure of the Year: Acre Impact Capital
This award is specifically for the innovative financial structures using new instruments and other mechanisms for impact investments. Innovations can include funding instruments or structures, impact delivery mechanisms and innovation in lending schemes to targeted beneficiaries. Overview Acre Impact Capital’s Export Finance Fund I is the first private debt fund dedicated to financing the underfunded…
Impact Intermediary of the Year: Edge Growth
For intermediaries that support and enable impact investing, including arrangers, accelerators, incubators, government departments, research & consulting firms, policy think-tanks or professional services companies that promote impact investments through thought leadership, project implementations and advisory work. Overview Edge Growth is a South African organisation that supports entrepreneurs and SMEs through enterprise and supplier development programmes,…
Impact Fund of the Year: KawiSafi Ventures
Awarded to funders deploying capital to support impact projects. Pension funds, endowments, corporations, banks, governments, development finance institutions, high net-worth individuals and public funders are eligible for consideration. The award highlights funders with an innovative funding approach, either as a provider of catalytic capital or a third party investor deploying capital into an innovative structure….
Impact Funder of the Year: Nithio
Awarded to funders deploying capital to support impact projects. Pension funds, endowments, corporations, banks, governments, development finance institutions, high net-worth individuals and public funders are eligible for consideration. The award highlights funders with an innovative funding approach, either as a provider of catalytic capital or a third party investor deploying capital into an innovative structure….
