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Staff Writer

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The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) (www.AWIEForum.org) hosted a spectacular celebration of African women’s excellence at the2025 AWIEF Awards, held on Friday evening at the Cape Town South Africa. The glittering gala honoured women entrepreneurs and leaders driving innovation, sustainability, and inclusive growth across the continent. Eight exceptional winners were announced, each representing the transformative power of women-led initiatives in Africa. Since its inception in 2016, the AWIEF Awards have been a beacon of recognition and inspiration for women in business and leadership. Beyond celebrating success, the Awards aim to empower the next generation of innovators and changemakers, fostering a vibrant pan-African community of collaboration and impact. This year’s winners and finalists came from across Africa, showcasing diverse industries including technology, agriculture, energy, creative arts, and social entrepreneurship — united by a shared vision of advancing Africa’s growth through innovation. The Awards followed the two-day AWIEF2025 Conference, which attracted over 500 delegates from 50+ countries for engaging discussions, exhibition, masterclasses, and networking sessions. The event concluded with the highly anticipated awards gala dinner, marking a fitting finale to two days of knowledge sharing and inspiration. 2025 AWIEF Awards Winners Young Entrepreneur Award Norah Kimathi – Zerobionic, Kenya Empowerment Award Mampho Sotshongaye – Golden Rewards 1981, South Africa Energy Entrepreneur Award Nidal Tafah – MIRRIAH, Morocco Creative Industry Award Soraya da Piedade – Soraya da Piedade LDA, Angola Social Entrepreneur Award Farana Boodhram – MiDesk Global, South Africa Agri Entrepreneur Award (Sponsored by OCP Africa) Linda Davis – Giraffe Bioenergy, Kenya Tech Entrepreneur Award Maryanne Gichanga – AgriTech Analytics, Kenya Lifetime Achievement Award Audrey Joe-Ezigbo – CEO, Falcon Corporation, Nigeria Voices of the Winners For Soraya da Piedade, founder of Soraya da Piedade LDA and winner of the Creative Industry Award, the recognition marks a defining moment in her journey as a designer and entrepreneur. “I’m deeply honoured and grateful to AWIEF for creating platforms like this, where we celebrate women’s creativity and leadership,” said Soraya. “This award reminds me that when we create from a place of passion and purpose, we not only build brands but also inspire others to dream bigger.” From Kenya, Linda Davis, founder and CEO of Giraffe Bioenergy and winner of the Agri Entrepreneur Award, described the moment as “surreal.” “It’s my first time winning an award like this, and I am beyond excited,” said Davis. “AWIEF has given women like me a powerful space to share our work, connect with others, and be recognized for driving change in our communities. This win belongs to every woman farmer and entrepreneur working to build a sustainable Africa.” About the 2025 AWIEF Awards Finalists This year’s finalists included inspiring women from across Africa — from tech innovators in Botswana and Uganda to social impact leaders in Somalia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe — highlighting the depth and diversity of women’s entrepreneurial excellence on the continent.
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Winners of 2025 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Awards...

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Thierry Lepercq, Founder and President of HyDeal Ambition – a platform uniting 30 companies across the entire green hydrogen value chain – will speak at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference and exhibition, taking place from December 8–10 in Dakar, where the company will also participate as a Strategic Partner. Building on its success in Europe, HyDeal Ambition is expanding into Africa through its HyDeal Africa partnership with Morocco-based renewable energy developer Gaia Energy, targeting large-scale, low-cost green hydrogen production for export to Europe. With an initial focus on Morocco and Mauritania, the initiative positions Mauritania as a key green hydrogen hub, supported by exceptional wind and solar resources and close proximity to European markets. Through a joint feasibility study, HyDeal Ambition and Gaia Energy are assessing a subsea hydrogen pipeline linking Mauritania and Morocco to Spain – a critical step toward establishing an integrated green hydrogen corridor connecting Africa and Europe. The project aligns with the EU’s target to import 10 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030. HyDeal Ambition’s vertically integrated model – proven through HyDeal España, a 4.8 GW solar and 3.3 GW electrolyzer project currently under development in Spain – aims to deliver green hydrogen at costs competitive with fossil fuels. Its expansion into Mauritania builds on the country’s rapidly growing renewable energy portfolio, including the planned 30 GW Aman, 10 GW Project Nour and 6.6 GW Megaton Moon developments. Lepercq is set to share insights from HyDeal’s European and African ventures, outlining strategies to scale cost-competitive green hydrogen production and infrastructure across the MSGBC region, where countries such as Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry are advancing complementary hydrogen and renewable initiatives. “HyDeal Ambition’s participation at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 highlights the growing momentum behind West Africa’s green hydrogen drive,” said Sandra Jeque, Project Director at Energy Capital & Power. “With Mauritania and its neighbors advancing large-scale renewable and hydrogen projects, HyDeal’s integrated model and European experience will provide valuable insights into developing competitive, export-ready hydrogen value chains across the region.” Explore opportunities, foster partnerships and stay at the forefront of the MSGBC region’s oil, gas and power sectors. Visit www.MSGBCOilGasandPower.com to secure your participation at the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2025 conference.
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HyDeal Ambition to Drive Green Hydrogen Dialogue as Strategic Partner at...

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13 artisans travelled to Nairobi to showcase their products at Bizarre Bazaar Global Village, one of Kenya’s largest open-air markets for art, fashion and design. The artisans, from both refugee and host communities in Turkana, made 102,000 Kenyan shillings in sales over just two days. ‘It was more than just a market – it was a space to learn, connect and dream bigger,’ said Rodgers Mugaragu, a refugee artisan attending the event for the first time. With more than 100 vendors from across the country and beyond, Biz Baz is a vibrant platform for small producers to display their work and explore new business opportunities. ‘With ITC’s support, I’ve attended Biz Baz twice. The first time, I learned about product quality and value addition,’ said Josephine Alogogita Lobur from the Lodwar host community. ‘Since then, I’ve improved my designs to meet market standards. This year, I connected with new clients, exchanged ideas with other artisans, and gained inspiration to keep growing my business.’ Beyond immediate sales, the experience has strengthened participants’ confidence to run their own enterprises, paving the way for greater financial independence and long-term self-reliance. The group also visited ITC’s Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) centre in Nairobi to learn how local artisans collaborate with EFI to produce high-quality, market-ready goods. Opportunities like these help artisans gain exposure to national buyers and new markets, strengthening small businesses and generating income. Increased opportunities also mean better cohesion between refugees and host communities.
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Artisans from Turkana turn creativity into opportunity in Nairobi

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Polygon (https://PDOOH.co.za/), Africa’s leading and largest programmatic aggregated digital out-of-home (DOOH) publisher network has launched its first programmatic DOOH (pDOOH) campaign in Kenya for luxury automotive brand Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The campaign, executed in partnership with Polygon’s technology provider Place Exchange and media agency Omnicom Media Group (OMG), celebrates JLR’s 55-year anniversary and showcases the latest Defender model. However, it also represents another important milestone for the Kenyan advertising landscape, as the first locally-activated pDOOH campaign to run through Google-based trading tools. “This is a watershed moment for both the Kenyan and broader African DOOH markets, says Remi du Preez, Managing Director at Polygon. “It demonstrates how international brands can now transact programmatically across our network using the same digital platforms they rely on globally, bringing true omnichannel capability to Africa.” The JLR campaign currently focuses on Nairobi, targeting affluent suburbs, upmarket malls and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Initially launched across a limited number of sites, the rollout will soon expand to around 50 premium screens. While Kenya’s OOH market is smaller than South Africa’s, it remains one of Africa’s top five regions for outdoor media, with a fast-growing digital footprint and increasing advertiser appetite, says Du Preez. “The local market’s sentiment toward DOOH has shifted dramatically over the past few years. As advertisers see its value and measurability, media owners are incentivised to build and convert more digital inventory which, in turn, enables programmatic trading to thrive.” For JLR, the campaign forms part of a broader omnichannel strategy, where optimisation and attribution play key roles. Through Polygon’s programmatic model which enables day-part targeting, the client can reduce wastage by serving in specific pockets of time and maximising their budget. “The ability to dynamically serve ads, monitor engagement and adjust in real-time delivers to avoid wastage brings a level of agility that traditional loop-based buying can’t match,” says Du Preez. Polygon leverages Place Exchange (PX) as its core inventory exchange for all programmatic transactions across Africa. PX’s integration with Google’s ecosystem bridges the gap between global buyers and local media owners, allowing advertisers to simply activate, pause or manage campaigns across multiple African markets. “Through Place Exchange, we’ve created an infrastructure where brands like Jaguar Land Rover can extend their global programmatic strategy into Africa, with the same efficiency, measurability and transparency they expect elsewhere,” explains Du Preez. With nine African countries already connected to its network – and more being added –Polygon’s vision is to entrench its position as Africa’s largest DOOH network, offering advertisers a single entry point into a fragmented market while unlocking new revenue streams for local media owners. “This campaign is a testament to how far we’ve come. We’re proud to be driving innovation that not only connects global brands to African audiences, but also strengthens local ecosystems while speeding up digital transformation across the continent,” Du Preez says.
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Polygon launches first programmatic Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) campaign in Kenya for...

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Ghost in the Payroll: How to Uncover Payroll Fraud

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In line with its intention to become a leading force in digital labels and packaging production, Canon (www.Canon-CNA.com) is today using its participation in the FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers) Technical Seminar 2025 (Rome, 8th – 10th October) to announce the Canon corrPRESS iB17, a next-generation inkjet press engineered for industrial-scale corrugated packaging production. Capable of digitally printing up to 8,000 m2 per hour (15 million m2 per year), the corrPRESS iB17 delivers offset-like quality directly onto corrugated boards up to 1.7 m wide with water-based inks and primer for indirect food contact. The highly automated corrPRESS iB17 enables cost-efficient short- to medium-length runs with ultra-fast turnaround times and requires fewer operators and lower skill levels. Designed for seamless integration into existing production environments, the corrPRESS iB17 offers outstanding productivity and digital flexibility, and extends the economic benefits of digital printing far beyond traditional short-run applications. Building on Canon's proven expertise and experience in commercial digital printing and following the development roadmap presented as a concept at drupa 2024, the Canon corrPRESS iB17 will address the evolving needs of corrugated converters that face increasing pressure to deliver shorter runs with more variants, faster turnaround times and premium quality, and all without compromising cost efficiency. Offering industrial-scale throughput at up to 8,000 m2 per hour, the corrPRESS iB17 allows converters to achieve cost-efficient production for runs up to 20,000 m2, extending digital printing viability well beyond traditional short-runs. Supported by automated printhead cleaning and quality control systems, the press minimises operator intervention while maximising production efficiency. The system’s design also reduces waste through efficient print on demand and eliminates the use of printing plates and chemicals. Unlike conventional technologies, the corrPRESS iB17 does not produce contaminated water, which then has to be filtered or released into the wastewater system. Featuring Canon's proprietary, high-performance, 1200 dpi piezo printheads and specially formulated, water-based pigment inks and primer, which provide an extended colour gamut with CMYK and later OVG, the corrPRESS iB17 achieves pre-print offset-like quality in the post-print process. This improves production efficiency by eliminating the traditional lamination step while reproducing vibrant, accurate and consistent colours, sharp text and precise detail on both coated and uncoated topliners at rated speeds. The system also uses an advanced spot primer that ensures optimal ink adhesion and colour reproduction across the full range of corrugated materials. The ink is jetted onto the board immediately after the primer application without any drying in between, minimising the impact of drying on the board and contributing to a highly reliable production process. The sophisticated Canon drying technology in the corrPRESS iB17 has been optimised to minimise corrugated board stress and energy consumption and to increase production efficiency. Covering approximately 80% of retail packaging applications, the system supports coated and uncoated boards up to 1.7 m wide and 1.3 m long, and ranging from 1 mm to 8 mm thick, at a linear speed of 80 m per minute. Unusually for a digital corrugated press, Canon owns all the key components in the printing process – printheads, inks and drying – enabling Canon to optimise the system’s performance more easily. This high level of integration and synchronisation will result in exceptional levels of productivity and reliability. By combining proven proprietary inkjet technology with an industrial board transport system, Canon has developed an innovative press that delivers offset-quality prints with outstanding productivity and digital flexibility, all developed for indirect food contact applications Jennifer Kolloczek, Senior Director, Marketing & Innovation, Production Printing, Canon EMEA, commented: “Corrugated converters face rising demands for shorter runs, more variants and faster turnaround without compromising quality or cost. We’re thrilled to now announce the Canon corrPRESS iB17 — a digital corrugated press that empowers converters to respond to the changing demands with agility and unlock growth. For Canon, the corrPRESS iB17 marks a major milestone in our journey to becoming a key player in the packaging industry and we’re especially excited that EMEA customers will be the first to benefit from this innovation. Although we’re new to corrugated, we bring many years of collaborative innovation from industrial-scale commercial print and will combine our digital expertise with converters’ value-chain knowledge to drive progress in packaging together.”
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Canon Announces the corrPRESS iB17, a New Digital Press for Industrial-Scale...

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Prof Njenga Munene Launches his Autobiography, ‘Rooted in Hope’

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State Department for Correctional Services fetes its officers By Vincent Munga
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State Department for Correctional Services fetes its officers

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KQ flies first Africa flight using sustainable fuel
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KQ flies first Africa flight using sustainable fuel

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IRA to hike license, annual fees for insurers and reinsurers

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