Launched in 2013 by JFD (Digital Women’s Day), the “Margaret’s Award”, it is explained, rewards each year women entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Europe and Africa, whose projects and innovations respond to the major challenges of our society. The prize is named after Margaret Hamilton, director of the software engineering division that developed the embedded software for NASA’s Apollo space programme.
For the first time, the public can vote for their favourite finalist from 1 to 8 February on joinjfd.com. The public’s vote, say the organisers, will count as one in the jury’s deliberations, which will be held on 10 February in a closed session at the Sorbonne in Paris. The Margarets will be revealed on 8 March, on the occasion of JFD’s 10th anniversary, at the Pullman Paris Montparnasse. Christel Bories, Chairman and CEO of Eramet (a French multinational mining and metallurgical company) is the patron of this 10th edition. The JFD Margaret Prize is held under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic.
The winners, it is reported, will be awarded the JFD Growth Accelerator Programme including media exposure worth one million euros, mentoring and coaching in collaboration with JFD partners, but also digital equipment, speaking opportunities in Europe and Africa, membership of the JFD network, scholarships for the Margaret Juniors, etc.
Delphine REMY-BOUTANG, CEO THE BUREAU – JFD said: “For this 10th edition of the JFD Margaret Award, we received over 300 applications. This is a unique opportunity to bring out our future European and African tech champions. Their projects all respond to major societal challenges. We need to direct more investment towards female entrepreneurship, which also provides solutions to digital transformation by putting it at the service of our societies and the environment”.
Below, the finalists from Africa (Biographies provided by JDF)
Finalists from Africa in the “Female Entrepreneur” category
Farah EMARA, Co-founder & Director FreshSource, Egypt’s first business-to-business agricultural platform that streamlines the fresh produce value chain and empowers farmers. (Egypt)
Farah is passionate about the agricultural industry and has been in it since childhood. With a degree in Business, Economic Development and Public Policy from Durham University and a Masters in Management from the London School of Economics, Farah has held a number of management positions in large multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble and Endeavor. It is this experience in FMCG coupled with her knowledge of start-ups and SMEs that led her to launch FreshSource to help develop her country. FreshSource is leveraging technology to become the leading fresh produce retailer in the MENA region, impacting the way fresh produce is bought, sold and transported to impact the industry and the millions of people connected to it.
Shamim Nabuuma KALIISA, Founder & Executive Director Chil AI Lab, which provides artificial intelligence technology to improve access to cancer diagnosis in reproductive health. (Uganda)
Shamim Nabuuma is a 26 year old breast cancer survivor, social entrepreneur, motivational speaker and advocate for women’s entrepreneurship. She is the founder of Chil AI Lab, a group that uses artificial intelligence to provide breast and cervical cancer screening services to women in 10 African countries. Her love for technology and innovation has earned her the recognition of national and international actors through the attribution of numerous awards such as the High Commendation recognition of the Fi Europe Innovation awards in 2019 or her nomination as a CEO trainer of the Google for start-up programme.
Ariane NGOUESSONO SOUFIANO, Co-founder & CEO CA Pay, mass payment solution for salaries, pensions, scholarships, bonuses, mission expenses, via mobile money. (Gabon)
With a master’s degree in law, Ariane NGOUESSONO SOUFIANO created CA Pay, a fintech platform for the mass payment of salaries via mobile money for companies with unbanked employees, in response to the fact that 80% of the population and 81% of the towns in her country are unbanked. Her ambition is to help companies and the population on the one hand, but also to participate in the increase of financial inclusion thanks to CA Pay, which consists in developing a digital solution for the grouped payment of salaries via mobile money.
Africa finalists in the “Intrapreneur” category
Adjaratou Wakha AIDARA, Executive Partner West Africa, has developed a clean, safe, sustainable and connected mobility project with motorbike taxis. (Senegal)
Adjaratou Wakha holds a double doctorate from Cheikh Anta Diop University (Dakar-Senegal) and a Master’s degree in Development -International Health from Senghor University, and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University (Lyon-France) and a PhD from Senghor University (Alexandria-Egypt).
She also holds numerous certificates from renowned institutions such as HEC Paris, the Peace Operations Training Institute (POTI) and the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS).
With her rich and atypical background, Professor Adjaratou Wakha AIDARA NDIAYE puts her expertise at the service of the Partner West Africa Senegal team, which she has been leading since 2015, with active initiatives in the French-speaking region of West Africa as well as networks covering the entire sub-region.
Patricia NDIKUMANA, Director of Partnerships Sokowatch, a platform that aims to facilitate access to essential goods for informal retailers. (Kenya)
Patricia Ndikumana is a seasoned multilingual professional with over 8 years of experience in strategic account management and market expansion. With experience in sales, market expansion and strategic account management, she is currently responsible for global partnerships at Sokowatch, where she manages a team spread over 6 countries and 3 languages, with the main mission of creating strategic relationships with partners (internal and external, local, regional and multinational) to ensure efficient and inclusive processes.
Cléo NGOKOUDI, Director of Finance Anka, a platform that provides local merchants with integrated digital management solutions. (Ivory Coast)
Cléo Ngokoudi holds a double Master’s degree in finance obtained in Brazil. She has 8 years of experience in large reference groups such as Véolia or Total Energies before joining Anka as Finance Director. After having developed the finance and logistics aspects of the platform, she is now focusing on the fintech aspect with the ambition of creating innovative technologies for customers.
Africa finalists in the “Junior” category
Maylis KOUAKOUA, aged 13, is developing an intelligent game to make young teenagers aware of the dangers of the internet. (Gabon)
Currently a student at the Lycée Français Michel Montaigne in the 9th grade, Maylis’ ambition is to become a digital lawyer. Very sensitive to the problems encountered by young people of her age, she has set herself the mission of equipping them to deal with the potential dangers linked to the use of the internet and other areas such as hygiene, education, the environment, health and society in general. Its project is about an intelligent game in the form of a quiz that aims to introduce these teenagers to the right reflexes by using situation scenarios and a reward system. The game is intended to become an application accessible to all.
Malebina TSOTSOTSO, 15, created MTutor, an e-learning platform designed to provide an adaptable, scalable, safe and secure learning tool. (South Africa)
Malebina Tsotsotso is a high school student who wants to study computer architecture. She believes that the future of the world will have to rely on the Internet of Things (IoT) to meet future challenges. Passionate about new technologies, she has built her study project around the acquisition of advanced skills in computer system architecture with the aim of being one of the players who will make the future. At the same time, she is pursuing her MTutor project aimed at guaranteeing access to education for all regardless of social class.
