In its 3rd year, the Africa Business Concept Challenge (ABCC) began with 87 teams from 58 universities in 17 African countries. The virtual business concept competition for African undergraduate and graduate students was sponsored by AACSB International, The Swift Institute, Thunderbird School of Global Management, and UConn School of Business, and supported by Peaqs, emlyon business school, Association of African Business Schools, South African Business Schools Association (SABSA), Kenya Economics Students Association (KESA), and the Good Governance Academy. The competition challenges student teams to develop a viable business concept that addresses a locally-relevant challenge or problem related to Agenda 2063, and inclusive and sustainable development.
The Africa Business Concept Challenge intends to assist young people from the African continent who have an entrepreneurial orientation, a desire to serve their community, and demonstrate the values outlined below. With a focus on promoting responsible business, the competition identifies high potential young people for mentorship and investment.
Competition Values
- A commitment to the importance of responsible entrepreneurship and its role in job creation
- An international outlook
- A commitment to ethical business practices
- A strong interest in young people in emerging markets and the role that business can play in creating opportunities that enable them to develop
- A belief that business is a public trust with the obligation to improve and serve society
- A commitment to lifelong learning and continuing education
After 4 rigorous phases of business development components, the Africa Business Concept Challenge 2023 is proud to announce its Top 5 teams. We would also like to recognize 29 teams who completed all 4 Phases and submitted a pitch video.
The Top 5 teams will be invited to present their pitches to a LIVE panel of judges on April 17th and 18th. Afterwards, the judges will determine the first, second, and third place winners who will be receiving $5,000 and $1,000 scholarship prizes, respectfully.
The teams and universities are as follows (in no particular order):
TEAM M.I.A.S.C.
Makerere University, Uganda
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Ireland
Team Members:
Luca Massari
Udit Raj
Mohit Santani
Lillian Nalubega
Dennis Asiimwe
Faculty Mentor:
David Nyaluke
Project M.I.A.S.C.
Uganda is the world’s 8th largest coffee producer, but only 10% of its coffee is processed locally. Despite being responsible for around 12% of global coffee production, the sector only contributes about 4.6% to Uganda’s GDP. Uganda’s coffee industry faces many challenges such as low wages for farmers, high unemployment, and low productivity, resulting in a failure to leverage the potential value of the industry. Climate change, deforestation, and unpredictable weather patterns further exacerbate the issue, impacting crop yields and quality, but these issues can also be addressed by focusing on organic specialty forest coffee farming which supports tree care and planting. Analysing data from a local cooperative, the price of graded coffee ready for export is USD 2.1/Kg while the price of ready-to-take coffee fully processed is USD 5/kg. Our solution aims to fully process and make coffee at source in Uganda. This will triple earnings, create needed jobs, promote sustainable practices.
SDGs Identified:
#1 No Poverty
#8 Decent Work
#10 Reduced Inequality
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
Project ATA (Africa to Africa)
Intra-African trade is around 12%, well below other intra-regional trades which are around 40%. Yet it is neither entrepreneurs nor markets that are lacking. The major concerns are related to customs barriers and the fact that many African structures are not formal. This makes the B to B exchange between Africans very difficult. It is in this context that the MBS TEAM is betting on continental development through a fluent exchange between the various economic operators. To this end, we will create a tailor-made platform called ATA (AFRICA TO AFRICA). In line with the main objective, our slogan is: MADE BY AND FOR AFRICANS! ATA will be a B to B trade platform aimed at facilitating trade between different suppliers from Africa. Users will find in this platform all the necessary information (products, prices, customs, and taxes) to sell, buy and export or import their products within the continent. Investors and local project leaders will find their account through an efficient exchange.
SDGs Identified:
#8 Decent Work
#10 Reduced Inequality
#17 Partnership for the Goals
TEAM MBS
Montpellier Business School Dakar, Senegal
Team Members:
Ibrahim Touré
Dialikatou Diallo
Christina Ndong
Ismaël Koné
Abdoulaziz Nikiema
Faculty Member:
Pathé Fall
TEAM CHUCHU SOFTIES
Ashesi University, Ghana
Team Members:
Faith Labija
Anne Alwala Achieng
Faculty Mentor:
Angelina Asenso Addo
Project ChuChu Softies
According to UNICEF, a pack of sanitary pads cost an average of $1.30 even as an estimated 44% of Nigeria’s population (87 million) lives in extreme poverty earning less than $1.90 per day. More than 800 million women and girls menstruate worldwide each day, yet 500 million of those women have no access to sanitary pads. Women and girls with special needs and disabilities disproportionately do not have access to affordable pads. The ChuChu Softies team interviewed females from countries that cut across west Africa, central Africa and east Africa. Our findings showed that most of these girls and women have resorted to alternatives such as rags, socks, tissues and re-washing synthetic pads. These alternatives pose health problems to the users, such as infections. Hence, we produce reusable pads from Lab-certified fabrics and sell them directly to our users. For those who cannot afford our reusable pads, our B2B model caters to them to ensure they access them.
SDGs Identified:
#1 No Poverty
#3 Good Health & Wellbeing
#4 Quality Education
#5 Gender Equality
#6 Clean Water & Sanitation
#8 Decent Work
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
#13 Climate Action
Project FundMate
Access to finance remains a persistent challenge in Africa. According to the 2021 World Bank Database, 9.4% of Africans, and 9.9% of Tunisians, (aged 15+) have access to formal financing services, compared to 60% in high-income countries. Moreover, the 2018 MSME Finance Gap Database shows that African MSMEs face an annual funding gap of $330 billion. Consequently, African economies have yet to unlock their innovative potential and struggle to compete globally. We aim to create a secure and transparent web platform offering a complete package of crowdfunding services and investment opportunities in Africa, starting locally in Tunisia. The goal is to build the optimal financial ecosystem to foster the growth of innovative projects, provide equal accessibility to investment and encourage investors to indulge in economically rewarding ventures. We strive to promote industry innovation and infrastructure and contribute to decent work and economic growth for all Africans.
SDGs Identified:
#8 Decent Work
#9 Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
#10 Reduced Inequality
Team FundMate
Mediterranean School of Business, Tunisia
Team Members:
Anis Knani
Youssef Chebil
Yassine Zaghouani
Faculty Mentor:
Tracy Olson
TEAM FEWOFERT 63-5
Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana
Team Members:
Terese Owusu
David Odametey
Jonas U. Chakpojuk
Precious Maame Gyenabu Ogbonilea
Makafui Yaa Audrey Sedo
Faculty Mentor:
Frederick Owusu Sarpong
Project DAJOMMAP
The World Bank asserted that, as of 2020, 18% of the total population and 32% of rural dwellers, respectively, practice open defecation. Also, sanitation costs Ghana $79 million, while roughly, 19,000 Ghanaians die from diarrhea primarily due to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. As a result of these distressing findings, Ghana has become overly dependent on these foreign fertilizers to avert the impact of high sanitation costs and increased deaths. From International Trade, Ghana was the largest fertilizer importer in West Africa in 2020 with 26% of all imports. Nonetheless, fertilizer prices have risen rapidly in recent times, which has driven some farmers who struggle to make revenue directly to use raw feces as fertilizer. However, DAJOMMAP’s approach is to be a stopgap to these crises by using fecal waste which goes through natural decomposition with the use of ash to lower the moisture content and to raise the pH level to produce the organic fertilizer, FEWOFERT 63-5.
SDGs Identified:
#1 No Poverty
#2 Zero Hunger
#3 Good Health & Wellbeing
#6 Clean Water & Sanitation
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production