Four Startups Shine at Africa’s Largest Impact Investment Summit

Four innovative startups were crowned winners of the prestigious Sankalp Africa Awards 2025, recognising African enterprises tackling some of the region’s most pressing social and economic challenges.

The awards were announced at the 12th Sankalp Africa Summit, held at the Edge Convention Centre in Nairobi, an event that brought together over 1,500 investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers from across the continent. Hosted by Intellecap, part of the Aavishkaar Group, the summit focused on scaling African entrepreneurship by connecting startups with funding opportunities, market linkages, and mentorship.

The 2025 Sankalp Africa Awards Winners

This year’s overall winner was Kilimo Fresh Foods Africa (Tanzania), led by Founder Baraka Chijenga. The startup operates a B2B2C marketplace that connects farmers, consumers, businesses, and informal retailers to fresh produce using mobile technology.

The first runner-up was Bena Care (Kenya), a health-tech startup founded by Naomi Monari. The company provides affordable home-based nursing and therapy services to chronically ill patients in middle- to low-income communities while training caregivers to earn an income.

The second runner-up was Dawa Mkononi (Tanzania), founded by Joseph Paul. The healthcare startup leverages technology to improve medicine distribution across Africa, reducing supply chain inefficiencies.

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A special Sankalp Ecosystem Award, determined through voting by impact ecosystem stakeholders, was awarded to Organic Fields (Kenya), led by Founder and CEO Richard Mwangi. The social enterprise transforms food waste from Kenyan municipal markets into organic fertilizer, promoting soil health and sustainability.

Driving Innovation & Impact

Nairobi is emerging as East Africa’s startup hub, and the Sankalp Africa Summit 2025 reinforced Kenya’s position as a leader in impact entrepreneurship and investment. Kenya’s startup ecosystem attracted over $1.2 billion in venture capital in 2023, a testament to the country’s dynamic entrepreneurial landscape.

“The Sankalp Africa Awards 2025 has truly been an enriching experience when it comes to meeting hundreds of impact enterprises whose business promise and potential is crucial to solving economic and development challenges across the continent.  Each of the startups showcased underscores how innovation coupled with intent can significantly impact and deliver on sustainability and social good. We are inspired by the ideas and the cutting edge innovation of our winners, each of whom demonstrate the ability to drive action, catalyse collaborations and influence positive outcomes,” said Karnika Yadav, Partner & Director, Intellecap Africa.

This year the 12^th Sankalp Africa Summit was supported by Strategic Global Partners like AfDB, World Bank, Villgro Africa, Jhpiego, Health Finance Coalition, Grand Challenges Canada, Boehringer Ingelheim, Business for Health Solutions, William Davidson Institute and Viya, and will aim to catalyse collaborative capital, facilitate discussions on people centric approaches and incentivised private sector to adopt solutions that solve some of the most intractable social challenges.

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