Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape is shifting at an unusual speed and this year, the Sahara Group Foundation has placed a decisive marker on that momentum. At a gala in Lagos recently, the Foundation unveiled 20 African EXTRApreneurs, selected from a staggering 2,000 applicants across eight countries, awarding more than $130,000 in catalytic funding through its Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) and Making a Difference Across Africa (MADAA) programmes.
The announcement is more than a corporate milestone. It signals the rise of a new class of African founders and builders who are tackling problems ranging from climate resilience and health access to digital learning, supply-chain efficiency and sustainable farming. And they are doing so with ambition, urgency and a global outlook.
“We are closing the loop between discovery, support, and scale,” said Chidilim Menakaya, Director of the Sahara Group Foundation.
“This integrated model ensures EXTRApreneurs have a structured, fully supported pathway to deliver real impact across their communities.”
A New Chapter in Africa’s Innovation Architecture
For nearly two decades, the Sahara Group Foundation has operated as a catalyst across the continent, investing in entrepreneurship, environmental resilience, and community transformation. But the 2025 programme cycle marks a strategic pivot.
Insights from earlier SIF and MADAA cycles revealed a widening continental challenge; early-stage African innovators often reach discovery, but struggle to reach the market. To address this, the Foundation aligned the two programmes, creating a streamlined innovation pipeline designed to eliminate bottlenecks, strengthen founder capacity and support long-term sustainability.
The result is a model that mirrors global best practices in emerging markets from Southeast Asia’s “build-scale-export” startup pipeline to Latin America’s increasingly integrated entrepreneurship ecosystems.
“Our focus goes beyond disbursing grants,” noted David Ayinde, Programme Supervisor.
“We are equipping founders with governance discipline, financial intelligence, and commercial readiness so they can scale sustainably across African markets.”
A Pan-African Class of Builders
The 2025 cycle attracted more than 2,000 applications, narrowing through rigorous screening to 300 innovators who entered an intensive capacity-building workshop. Delivered by industry experts from the Sahara Group, the sessions covered:
- Business strategy and sustainability.
- Governance and regulatory compliance.
- Brand positioning and communication.
- Stakeholder and commercial management.
- Legal, financial, and tax advisory frameworks.
From this pool, 20 high-potential EXTRApreneurs advanced to the Sahara Business Advisory Bootcamp and the Sahara M.A.D Den in Lagos where their ventures secured funding to accelerate growth.
“Africa’s entrepreneurs must embrace resilience, discipline, and innovation,” urged Dr. Kola Adesina, Executive Director at Sahara Group.
“These qualities are essential for building businesses with the capacity for transformative impact and global competitiveness.”
Meet the New Titans: The 20 EXTRApreneurs
$10,000 Grant Recipients
A diverse group spanning agritech, health innovation, consumer goods, manufacturing, green solutions, disability tech and early-childhood learning:
- Nigeria: Chinwendu Augustina Nweke (Bridge Merchant Enterprise)
- Uganda: Elvis Kadhama (Essymart Africa Business Link Ltd)
- Ghana: Violet Awo Amoabeng (Skin Gourmet), Anita Nsiah Donkor (Timoya Farms)
- Kenya: Tracey Shiundu (FunKe Science)
- Egypt: Salma Medhat (Hiryo)
- Ethiopia: Dr. Sisay Abebe (KMS ETH Health Trading S.C)
- Botswana: Kedumetse Liphi (Ked-LiphiBw)
- South Africa: Ernest Mongezi Majenge (The Wheelchair Doctor)
- Uganda: Joan Rukundo Nalubega (Uganics Repellents Ltd)
$5,000 Grant Recipients
- Nigeria: Eunice Adewale (Smokeless Briqs), Henry Danwawo Lamba (Schrödinger Technologie), Johnson Obute (Maximus Recycling Solutions)
- Ghana: Abraham Ugbenja Iborchan (PureLube Limited)
- Kenya: Brian Okeyo (Nawiri Organics)
$1,000 Grant Recipients
- Nigeria: Jide Ayegbusi (EdGo Technology), Mojola Ola (Gridcrux Energy Solutions), Abiodun Quadri (Zerosmoke Ventures), Fasanya Samuel Akinpelumi (Poshfil Polish Products Ltd)
- Uganda: David Ssembajjwe (Camelot Agroecology Farm)
Africa faces one of the world’s fastest-growing youth populations, an economic force that could either propel the continent or overwhelm it. Entrepreneurship has increasingly become the conduit through which young Africans build livelihoods, create jobs and design solutions tailored to their own communities.
Yet the gap between idea and market remains wide.
Sahara Group Foundation’s redesigned programmes fill this space precisely:
The messy middle where many African startups stall.
By offering structured advisory support, hands-on mentorship and targeted funding, the Foundation is positioning EXTRApreneurs not merely as beneficiaries but as future employers, exporters and regional industry leaders.
“Your businesses must have value propositions that continuously evolve,” said Ade Odunsi, Executive Director at Sahara Group.
“Innovation is not an event. It is a mindset.”
An Africa Poised for Scale
Across the continent, similar shifts are underway. Venture capital firms are tightening their focus. Governments are revisiting industrialization policies. Global investors are re-evaluating their appetite for African growth markets. And African-made solutions from fintech to clean tech are breaking into international markets with increasing confidence.
Sahara Group Foundation’s EXTRApreneurs reflect this continental recalibration that small enterprises solve profound problems with practical, local intelligence and global relevance.
At a time when global markets are battling economic uncertainty, Africa’s founders continue to present a different story, one of resourcefulness, determination and a steady push toward building homegrown industries.
The 2025 EXTRApreneur cohort is not simply a list of awardees. It is a snapshot of Africa’s future, restless, creative, ambitious and unwilling to wait for the world to validate its potential.
For full details on the Sahara Impact Fund, MADAA initiative and ongoing programmes, readers can visit the Sahara Group Foundation’s official website.
