Sankalp West Africa Awards: Celebrating Outstanding Entrepreneurs and Business

The Sankalp West Africa Awards stand tall as a powerful beacon of recognition, resilience, and impact in an era where entrepreneurship is increasingly shaping Africa’s social and economic transformation,

More than just a celebration of business excellence, the awards serve as a launchpad for visionary entrepreneurs building innovative, inclusive, and scalable solutions to some of West Africa’s most pressing challenges.

By honoring bold ideas and impactful ventures across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, climate resilience, fintech, and education, the Sankalp West Africa Awards are not only uplifting entrepreneurs but also inspiring a thriving ecosystem built on shared growth and sustainability.

What Are the Sankalp West Africa Awards?

The Sankalp West Africa Awards are an annual recognition program organized by the Sankalp Forum, a global initiative of Intellecap (an impact advisory firm under the Aavishkaar Group).

These awards celebrate high-impact entrepreneurs and businesses operating in the 15 ECOWAS nations, as well as Cameroon and Mauritania.

With a focus on sustainability, inclusion, and innovation, the awards aim to spotlight early- to growth-stage enterprises that are solving key development challenges using market-driven models.

The Sankalp West Africa Awards form part of the broader Sankalp Africa Summit, a movement dedicated to catalyzing entrepreneurship for impact in emerging markets.

Through this platform, shortlisted entrepreneurs gain access to investment opportunities, mentorship, visibility, and a broader ecosystem of accelerators, corporates, and development partners.

Why the Sankalp West Africa Awards Matter

West Africa is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and is rich in entrepreneurial talent. However, access to capital, mentorship, and global exposure remains uneven. The Sankalp West Africa Awards address this gap by:

Elevating visibility for mission-driven startups and SMEs.
Connecting entrepreneurs to active impact investors and funding platforms.
Creating a regional pipeline of scalable businesses tackling SDG-aligned problems.
Encouraging inclusive growth by amplifying ventures led by youth, women, and local changemakers.
Bridging ecosystems between Francophone, Anglophone, and Lusophone countries in West Africa.

Unlike traditional business competitions, the Sankalp West Africa Awards are deeply rooted in measuring impact, not just revenue or scalability—making them a vital compass for purpose-driven entrepreneurship in the region.

Award Categories

The Sankalp West Africa Awards are designed to spotlight outstanding enterprises and entrepreneurs making strides in inclusive development, sustainability, and innovation.

Categories are carefully curated to reflect both regional priorities and emerging global development trends:

1. Sankalp Entrepreneur of the Year

This premier accolade recognizes an entrepreneur who has demonstrated remarkable leadership, resilience, and creativity while building a business that delivers measurable social or environmental impact in West Africa. The winner exemplifies innovation with scalability.

2. Social Impact Business of the Year

Honors an enterprise that directly addresses pressing social challenges—such as healthcare, education, gender equity, or livelihoods—while operating a commercially viable model. Emphasis is on depth of impact and sustainable outcomes.

3. Women-led Impact Business of the Year

Recognizes a female-led venture driving inclusive growth and tackling gender-specific challenges. This award celebrates leadership, market impact, and empowerment of women through business innovation.

4. Youth-led Impact Enterprise

Celebrates young changemakers (typically under 35) who are using technology or creative models to drive positive social or environmental change. The award highlights scalability potential and youth innovation.

5. Most Promising Early-stage Startup

For enterprises less than three years old that show strong traction, a compelling MVP, market validation, and a clear path to scaling. It emphasizes the importance of nurturing startups in their formative stages.

6. Agribusiness & Food Systems Innovation

Focused on ventures that elevate West Africa’s agricultural value chains through innovation—such as supply chain digitization, agri-fintech, regenerative practices, or post-harvest solutions—as seen in past finalists like Green Afro-Palms, Kitovu Technology, and Simkay Foods.

7. Climate Resilience & Environment Award

Acknowledges businesses addressing environmental threats, climate change adaptation, renewable energy, waste management, or conservation. Examples of past winners include low-carbon cookstoves and solar energy solutions .

8. Clean Energy & Clean Tech

Distinguishes startups providing clean energy or energy-efficient technologies—such as biomass gasification, pay-as-you-go solar, or thermoelectric systems—mirroring past finalists like ShaQ Express and Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd.

9. Healthcare & HealthTech

Recognizes innovations improving access to quality healthcare—e.g., telemedicine, pharmaceutical distribution (like Drug-It Solutions), diagnostics platforms, or community health models.

10. Circular Economy & Waste Management

Highlights businesses that repurpose waste streams, promote sustainable consumption, or implement recycling/upcycling systems. Pad-Up Creations exemplifies this by producing washable sanitary pads.

11. Agritech & Agri-Innovation

Though overlapping with Agribusiness, this category zeroes in on tech-driven agri-solutions—from drones and blockchain traceability to automated irrigation and AI advisory—as seen from finalists like Farm Corps and Alcoford Corporation.

12. Ecosystem Builder / Sankalp Ecosystem Award

Selected via peer voting within the Sankalp ecosystem, this award honors organizations or individuals actively nurturing the impact entrepreneurship landscape—think incubators, investor networks, or industry associations like Pad-Up Creations (which once won this award).

Sankalp West Africa Awards Highlights

Held in Lagos, Nigeria, the 2024 Sankalp West Africa Awards brought together over 400 stakeholders including entrepreneurs, investors, development agencies, corporates, and government representatives.

With over 300 applications from across 17 countries, the event proved once again that West Africa is brimming with entrepreneurial excellence.

Below are the standout winners and their contributions:

1. Green Afro‑Palms Crowned Enterprise Winner

At the inaugural Sankalp West Africa Summit held in Accra on June 12–13, 2023, Green Afro‑Palms (GAP), a sustainable palm‑oil agribusiness from Ghana, won the top prize—the Sankalp Enterprise Award. The co-founder, Ing. Kwame Ababio, was recognized for pioneering eco-friendly palm plantations and empowering smallholder farmers through training and sustainable practices.

2. Kitovu Technology & ShaQ Express Take Runners-Up

Nigeria’s Kitovu Technology claimed First Runner-Up, noted for its climate-smart agri-tech and post-harvest infrastructure that boosts productivity for smallholder farmers. Ghana’s ShaQ Express, a super-app specializing in logistics and e-commerce solutions, won Second Runner-Up.

3. Ecosystem Builder Award: Pad‑Up Creations

The Ecosystem Award, chosen via peer votes from sector practitioners, went to Nigeria’s Pad‑Up Creations—a social enterprise that manufactures washable, reusable sanitary pads, combining impact and sustainability.

4. Robust Startup Ecosystem & Summit Engagement

The Summit attracted 300+ entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and business leaders, fostering partnerships focused on climate, agriculture, health, financial inclusion, gender equality, and the circular economy.

5. Regional Impact, Continental Aspiration

Stakeholders emphasized closing gaps between formal and informal economies, ensuring inclusive policy innovation, and strengthening collaboration across countries—key themes captured in opening remarks and panel discussions.

6. Sector-Focused Recognition

Top finalists represented a wide range of sectors:

Agritech: Alcoford Corporation (Togo), Farm Corps, Simkay Foods (Nigeria)
Clean Energy: ShaQ Express & Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd (Ghana)
HealthTech: Drug‑It Solutions (Nigeria)
Circular Economy: Pad‑Up Creations (Nigeria)

7. Catalyzing Entrepreneur-led Growth

The 1st Sankalp West Africa Summit emphasized bridging development gaps through entrepreneurship, urging deep public-private collaboration and uplifting regional innovators as pillars of West Africa’s economic progress.

Spotlight on Regional Participation

1. Nigeria

The largest number of entries came from Nigeria, spanning agri-fintech, climate tech, healthtech, and logistics. The country’s startup legislation, youthful population, and increasing VC activity fuel this dominance.

2. Senegal

Francophone innovation shone brightly, particularly with fintech and community-driven models like MaTontine. Dakar continues to rise as a startup hub supported by local incubators and cross-border partnerships.

3. Ghana

Ghana’s focus on energy, AI, and SME support was evident in the entries. Naya Energy and other winners signal a strong push for sustainability-driven entrepreneurship.

4. Burkina Faso

Despite security challenges, grassroots solutions like CleanEarth and FasoHarvest highlighted the power of local innovation in fragile contexts.

Benefits of Winning a Sankalp West Africa Award

Winning the Sankalp West Africa Awards is about more than prestige—it’s a transformative opportunity. Recipients gain:

Investor exposure through pitch sessions with impact funds and angel networks.
Visibility and media coverage at regional and global levels.
Mentorship and capacity building via partnerships with Sankalp Forum and Intellecap.
Inclusion in Sankalp’s global ecosystem, opening doors to Asian and East African markets.

Moreover, finalists receive pitch coaching, business model review, and travel stipends to attend the summit.

Selection Process: Transparent and Impact-Focused

The awards process is designed to uphold transparency, diversity, and impact. It includes:

Application Phase – Startups apply through an open portal and are screened by sector.
Evaluation – An expert panel scores entries on innovation, scalability, social impact, and business model.
Shortlisting – Top applicants are invited to pitch virtually.
Final Jury – Composed of investors, ecosystem enablers, and previous winners, they select the most deserving recipients.

A key strength of the Sankalp West Africa Awards is that every finalist benefits—whether they win or not—through networking, visibility, and access to support.

Strategic Partners and Supporters

The success of the Sankalp West Africa Awards is amplified by a coalition of partners:

Intellecap
GIZ (Make-IT Africa)
ANDE West Africa
Launch Africa Ventures
Briter Bridges
Orange Corners
USAID Invest

These partnerships provide funding, strategic mentorship, capacity building, and regional integration support.

Looking Ahead: Building A Resilient Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

As the region prepares for the next edition of the Sankalp West Africa Awards, the focus will shift toward:

Increasing Francophone participation
Sector-specific tracks like blue economy and deep tech
Founder exchange programs between West and East Africa
Investor bootcamps for inclusive capital deployment
Youth-focused innovation labs in secondary cities

By building local ecosystems while promoting continental integration, the Sankalp platform aims to create a resilient entrepreneurship culture across Africa.

Conclusion

The Sankalp West Africa Awards are not merely a recognition platform—they are a catalyst for transformation.

By lifting up bold entrepreneurs and impactful businesses, these awards are rewriting West Africa’s narrative: one of possibility, partnership, and progress.

As more innovators rise to tackle challenges in healthcare, education, finance, agriculture, and the environment, the Sankalp West Africa Awards will remain a guiding light—amplifying voices, mobilizing capital, and inspiring generations to come.

FAQs

What is the main objective of the Sankalp West Africa Awards?

The awards aim to identify, support, and celebrate high-impact entrepreneurs and businesses that are solving critical development challenges in West Africa through scalable, market-based solutions. It provides visibility, access to funding, and a platform to engage with key ecosystem players.

Who can apply for the Sankalp West Africa Awards?

Early to growth-stage enterprises that operate in sectors like agriculture, clean energy, financial inclusion, healthcare, education, and climate resilience can apply. Eligible businesses must be based in West Africa, demonstrate measurable impact, and be seeking investment typically between $100,000 and $1 million.

What are the key benefits of participating in the awards?

Finalists and winners gain access to investor networks, mentorship, pitch opportunities at the Sankalp West Africa Summit, increased media exposure, and post-award capacity-building support to scale their ventures.

How are winners selected?

Startups are shortlisted based on criteria like innovation, social/environmental impact, commercial viability, and scalability. They go through multiple rounds, including application review, investor screening, virtual pitches, and final evaluation by a grand jury during the summit.

What types of businesses have won in the past?

Winners have included businesses from agritech, healthtech, logistics, and climate innovation sectors. For example, Green Afro-Palms (sustainable palm oil), Kitovu (agricultural infrastructure), and ShaQ Express (logistics tech) were recognized in 2023 for their outstanding impact in West Africa.