Introduction

A lot of people think Africa’s challenges are insurmountable, but there are also plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of business and entrepreneurship in the region. In addition to a growing number of local success stories, an increasing number of innovative companies from other parts of the world are looking to make Africa their next frontier, offering new opportunities for those who have always dreamed about starting their own business. Here are ten successful African entrepreneurs who are changing the start-up scene in Africa today.

1) Dr. Ade Odunsi

Dr. Ade Odunsi is the founder and CEO of Rensource Energy, a Nigerian startup that provides off-grid solar power to households and businesses in Africa. Rensource is one of the leading startup hubs in Africa, and has helped to bring african businesses into the global market. Dr. Odunsi has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and her experience in the energy sector has been invaluable in growing her company. She was recognized as one of the world’s most powerful people by Forbes Magazine and received an award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year at INSEAD’s World Innovation Summit for Education.

Odunsi has plans to expand Rensource beyond Nigeria with help from investors like Sequoia Capital, Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, and Microsoft Founder Bill Gates. She also recently signed on with Obama Foundation Leaders: Women's initiative, which will give her access to resources that she can use to keep expanding.

2) Nelly Akinkuotu

Nelly is the founder of Pawa, a startup hub in Africa that helps connect businesses with resources they need to succeed. She's also a mentor and advisor for several African startups. Nelly is passionate about supporting African businesses and helping them grow. There are many inspiring entrepreneurs in Africa who are ready to take on the world, she says. It's up to us as their supporters and mentors to help them reach their full potential. African start-ups will one day change the global tech industry, Akinkuotu told The Wall Street Journal. We're already catching up to other countries.

3) Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (aka Wizkid)

Wizkid is a popular Nigerian singer and songwriter. He started his music career at age 11 and has since gone on to release several successful albums. He's also won numerous awards, including three MTV Africa Music Awards and four BET Awards. In addition to his musical success, Wizkid is also a successful entrepreneur. He's the founder of Starboy Entertainment, a record label that houses some of Nigeria's biggest musical talents. Wizkid is also one of the many African entrepreneurs helping to create startup hubs in Africa. His company was created with the intent of building a global network for creative industries. The goal is to support creativity and economic development by providing an ecosystem for both local and international artists, musicians, filmmakers, fashion designers and other creatives from all over the world.

4) Lola Ojutiku

Lola Ojutiku is a Nigerian-American writer, editor, and content strategist. She's also the founder of The Africa List, a website that celebrates African businesses and entrepreneurs. In just a few short years, The Africa List has become one of the most popular sites for African start-ups. With over 250K followers on social media, it's not hard to see why. What began as a project to give voice to those who were overlooked in mainstream media has turned into an online resource for aspiring entrepreneurs across the continent.

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5) Abiola Akintayo-Ojo

Abiola Akintayo-Ojo is a Nigerian entrepreneur who is changing the start-up scene in Africa. She is the founder of Gloo.ng, an online platform that helps businesses connect with customers and sell their products and services. Gloo.ng has been successful in helping businesses reach new markets and grow their customer base. Akintayo-Ojo is a strong advocate for entrepreneurship in Africa and is working to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. Akintayo-Ojo advises fellow entrepreneurs on how to build sustainable businesses.

She was also one of the founding members of Womenable, a global initiative designed to provide tools and resources for women in business.

She believes in making entrepreneurship more accessible for everyone by teaching people about different models for running a business at her Startup Academy, which she founded with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji.

6) Abass Mahmud Yakubu

Abass Mahmud Yakubu is a Nigerian entrepreneur and co-founder of Africa's largest online marketplace, Jumia. He is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and was named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Retail and Ecommerce in 2016. Abass founded his first company at age 14. As an undergraduate student at Babcock University, he launched an internet security company which earned $4 million in revenue over two years and attracted interest from Google Nigeria and AT&T International.

He dropped out of college to focus on Jumia, which now has more than 11 million members across 22 countries on its platform.

The goal for me has always been to create opportunities, says Abass.

7) Kudi Oguntoyinbo

Kudi is a Nigerian fintech startup that allows users to buy airtime and pay bills with their phones. The company was founded in 2015 by two brothers, Femi and Seun Oguntoyinbo. Kudi has since then raised over $1 million in seed funding and is now one of the most successful startups in Africa. It offers banking services such as savings accounts, loans, remittances, peer-to-peer transfers, payroll and insurance payments which has led to it being recognized as one of Nigeria’s leading banks.

In September 2018, Kudi launched an app which can help Nigerians identify the best bank for them based on preferences such as interest rates and number of ATMs near them.

8) Marianna Betsch

Marianna Betsch is a Cameroonian entrepreneur and the co-founder of Kiro'o Games, the first video game development studio in Central Africa. She is also the creator of Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, the first role-playing game made in Cameroon. The game has been downloaded by more than 1 million people around the world since its release in 2016. In July 2017, Marianna was named as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work with the company.

Marianna was featured on several magazine covers including VentureBeat and Dazed & Confused Magazine to name a few.

In September 2017, she became the first woman in Africa to be selected as one of Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women In Africa.

9) Victoria Adedoyin Hassan (aka Tee Billz)

As the Founder and CEO of record label and management company 323 Entertainment, Tee Billz has helped put Nigerian music on the map. With a client list that includes some of Africa's biggest names in music, Tee Billz is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Africa. She is also a global influencer with over 1 million followers on Instagram. Her clients include Davido, Wizkid, Nasty C and Ice Prince among others. The organization, which is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, has been able to leverage its reach to introduce Africans to new genres of music such as Caribbean dancehall and even jazz thanks to collaborations with artistes like Sting (the former lead singer of the English rock band The Police). 

10) Zainab Balogun

Zainab Balogun is a Nigerian entrepreneur and media personality. She is the founder and CEO of JetSetGo, a digital platform that helps connect businesses with private jet charter services. She is also a co-founder of TheLikeButton Company, a social media marketing agency. In 2017, she was named one of Forbes Africa's 30 Under 30 list. When speaking about her career goals, she said: I want to be known as the woman who helped create opportunities for women in Nigeria.