African winner of the 2014 INDIAFRICA Business Venture Contest, Mr. Obanor Chukwuwezam, addressing the audience at the ceremony after receiving his prize money
The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E Jeeva Sagar, was one of several guests to witness the crowning of the overall prize winners for this year’s INDIAFRICA Business Venture Contest at the Executive Conference Centre of the Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra.
The winners of the entrepreneurial contest, Mr. Obanor Chukwuwezam from Nigeria and Mr. Prabhat Kumar of India, both received a Woxen INDIAFRICA prize package of $12,500 as well as a unique trip to Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting next year after earning an overwhelming majority of votes from the 22-member jury.
Mr. Sagar, in his opening address at the ceremony, said the purpose of the initiative is to scout for entrepreneurial talents from India and Africa, nurture entrepreneurship and also inject the needed investment in order to benefit society.
According to him, “the Indian government supported this initiative particularly because of the social impact it could have”, adding that, the programme has, indeed, been highly successful and has touched several lives on both continents as initially expected.
As the India’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Sagar, also revealed that he would be very satisfied as a promoter of India-Ghana partnerships, if this initiative helps to create more jobs in Ghana, increase trade between SMEs in Ghana and India, and also further touch the lives of the people of both countries.
The special guest for the event, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, Minister for Information and Media Relations, on behalf of the government of Ghana, expressed gratitude to the Indian government for their keen commitment towards the bilateral relations between both countries and the prosperity of the African continent as a whole.
Hon. Ayariga, who is himself a beneficiary of an Indian initiative, assured the government of India that Ghana held in high accord the bilateral ties shared by both countries, emphasizing that “Ghana would continue to be a close ally and partner of India”.
The Business Venture Contest, which is the third edition of the INDIAFRICA initiative, sought to create a platform for talented young Indians and Africans to exchange business ideas about shared solutions for shared challenges on the two geographies.
As part of the award ceremony, 20 finalists of the competition were presented with certificates for their participation in the 2014 INDIAFRICA Business Venture Contest, themed “Entrepreneurial solutions to address developmental challenges”.
The INDIAFRICA initiative was instituted in August 2011 and supported by the Public Diplomacy Division of India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), as a means of ensuring good mutual relations between India and the African continent.
This youth-centered initiative has engaged over 10,000 young people from over 39 African countries, including 184 prize winners amounting to US$ 224,000.
By: Prince Asare, Diplomatic Call
