TotalEnergies has launched the third edition of the Startupper of the Year Challenge. The challenge is aimed at supporting and rewarding young local entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35, who either have a business creation project or a startup that is under three years old, regardless of the sector of activity.
A local jury made up of business leaders, successful entrepreneurs, and managers from TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya Plc, will select three winners.
The “best business creation project” will win Ksh1,650,000 while the “best startup under three years old” will win Ksh1,650,000. The “best female entrepreneur” will pocket Ksh1,650,000.
The prize for “best female entrepreneur” is a new feature for this third edition, which aims to firmly encourage female entrepreneurship on the continent.
Each winner will be nominated “Startup of the Year by TotalEnergies” and will receive financial support, personalized coaching and a media campaign to give their project visibility.
Projects will be evaluated according to their response to the challenges of sustainable development, their innovative character and their feasibility and development potential.
Following the nomination of the three winners per country, an international jury will meet to select the three “Grand Winners” for the continent.
Registration will open on November 4, 2021, and will be accessible through the Challenge website. Candidates will then have until December 23, 2021, to submit their applications.
The third edition of Startupper of the Year Challenge will be in 32 countries of the African continent.
“Beyond the entrepreneurial spirit, this third edition of the Startupper Challenge of the Year reaffirms TotalEnergies’ commitment to supporting the socio-economic development of the countries in which the Company operates in Africa. It contributes locally to strengthening the social fabric by supporting the most innovative entrepreneurs in the realization of their projects,” said TotalEnergies in a statement.
In the first edition of the challenge, 34 countries on the African continent participated in the Startupper of the Year Challenge, with 24,000 registrations recorded on the website for 11,000 completed applications.
102 winners were chosen, including 52 winners in the “idea” category and 50 winners in the “business created” category.
The four Pan-African Winners were invited to Paris for a week to benefit from personalized coaching on their project.
In the second edition which happened in 2019, 55 countries worldwide participated with 50,000 registrations recorded on the website for 15,400 completed applications. 65 percent of the files came from the African continent.
The edition had 165 winners and six Grand Winners, including three African Grand Winners. These six Grand Winners were invited to Paris in mid-March 2019 for a week of personalized coaching.
Each participating country has also designated a “Top Female Entrepreneur” label to promote female entrepreneurship.
These 55 “Top Female Entrepreneur” were invited to Paris for a week in April 2019.
