On Thursday July 21st, 33 participants of the first E4Impact MBA cohort at University of Makeni (UNIMAK) attended the Business Plan Competition, that closed the 1st edition of the E4Impact MBA in Sierra Leone (started in 2014 and delayed because of ebola).
During the event, the entrepreneurs presented their business plan in front of an international jury composed by:
- Andrews Ayiku (Catholic Institute Business and Technology, Ghana)
- Angela Bassoli (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy)
- Ryan Chen-Wing (Saïd Business School – Oxford, UK)
- Amara Gegbai (West African Venture Fund, Sierra Leone)
- Martino Ghielmi (E4Impact Foundation, Italy)
- Lamin Paul Kamara (Sierra Leone Commercial Bank Ltd., Sierra Leone)
- Hamid Marah (SOBA – Adam Smith International, Sierra Leone)
- Raphael Marah (Neptune Ltd., Sierra Leone)
- AK Mansaray (Minister of Agriculture, Sierra Leone)
- Philip Bai Sesay (Full Circle Africa, Sierra Leone)
- Laura Taylor (Saïd Busienss School – Oxford, UK)
- Sergio Vitali (St. Lawrence Foundation, Italy)
- Songqiao Yao (Saïd Busienss School – Oxford, UK)
- Chiara Zanchi (St. Lawrence Foundation, Italy)
After 4 parallel sessions and an intense final round, the winners were nominated:
1st Position – Sulaiman Phoray-Musa, founder of H&S Recruitment, a training and recruitment agency specialized in matching reliable personnel with house owners;
2nd Position – Moses Sesay with Sesay’s Greenhouse, a company producing fresh vegetables in Makeni with innovative greenhouses;
3rd Position – Edward Sesay with EDRO Solar Power System, a Start-Up aiming at installing tailor-made power solutions;
4th Position – Archibald Shodeke with Ginger Beverage Initiative, a Start-Up aiming to produce high-quality ginger juice for the local market.
The event has been another important step that leads the way in bridging the gap between entrepreneurship and academia in Sierra Leone!