24 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM
VER3,000
nominations
floodedinto
ourinboxesand
landedonour
desksfromthe
startof 2020 for
thisUnder 30 list.
Andthemammoth
task?Whittlingit downto 30 names.
Whilelastyear,wehad 120 intotal,with
30 finalistseachinthecategoriesofbusiness,
technology,sportsandarts,thisyear,wechose
tostaywith30:thebestofthebestspanning
allindustries.Ouryoungestlist-makerthis
yearisjust16!
Ina continentpregnantwithopportunities,
andata timea viruspandemicgripsthe
world,youngpeoplearetheonlyhope.They
areabletostepintooffernewandinnovative
solutionsfortheproblemsconfrontingAfrica.
Andbigbusinesssalutestheirpotential.
“Leavinganordinarycareerpathtostart
somethingnewandoriginalisdifficultand
lonely,andsuccessisnotlinear.Makingthe
listmustalsobeanincredibleencouragement
tothebraveyoungpeoplewho’vestruck
outontheirown,”saysFranLuckin,Chief
CreativeOfficeratGreyAfrica,a global
advertisinggiant.Theoddsstackedagainst
themaregreat,suchasaccesstofundingand
institutionalandhistoricalinequalitiesthat
meanthere’sprobablyverylittlefamilywealth
orsavingsfortheaverageyoungentrepreneur
todrawon,addsLuckin.
“Ifyoulookatthedevelopmentfrom
youth-ownedbusinessesandthosefeatured
onthe 30 Under 30 list,youwillrealizethat
Africahasamazingpotential,”saysAshok
Gupta,Chairman&FounderofKalyanGroup,
a diversifiedbusinesswithportfoliosin
hospitalityandagriculturebasedinTogo.
Inthefollowingpages,thisiswhatwewill
see:thepotentialofAfrica’sfutureand the
peoplewhowillleadus.
The list is in no particular order.METHODOLOGY
Indrawingupthe 2020 list,wesiftedthrough
pilesofnominationsthatcameinfromacross
Africa,eventheremotestcorners.Through
robustreportingandvigorousvetting,
harnessingtheexperienceofoureditorial
teamsacrossAfrica;withextensiveresearch,
studiesofdatabasesandmediacoverage;and
alsodelvingintotheknowledgeofourteamof
externaljudges,weevaluatedthenomineesto
arriveata long-listof 100 names,beforeshort-
listingtothe 30 changingthefaceofbusiness
andsocietytoday.Wehaveonlyconsidered
forselectionthosewhowereundertheage
of 30 asofMarch31,2020.Wehavealso
discoveredmanymoreto‘watchoutfor’and
whowillbefeaturedonthislistintheyears
tocome.Forthe 2020 list,FORBESAFRICA
partneredonceagainwithSNGGrant
Thorntontovetthebusinessandfinancial
statementsofthecandidates.Thisinvolved
understandingthelandscape,theprofitability,
growthandmostofall,thescalabilityofeach
business.Butit’snotallaboutthemoney.
SomeofthequalitiesFORBESAFRICA
looksforintheleadersoftomorrowarethat
theyarepassionate,innovative,impactful,
pioneeringandarerealhustlersoftheAfrican
growthstory.Thelistalsoexaminestheir
resilience,strengthandabilitytoturnaround
theirenterpriseorcareers.Atthetimeof
goingtopress,allfactsonthefollowing pages
were verified to be correct.EXTERNALJUDGES:
BUSINESS:LwandileQokweni,
CEO,Wavewaker
TECHNOLOGY:TebohoMofokeng,
Founder,Bowfica
SPORTS:CarolTshabalala,Sportscaster
ARTS:YvetteGayle,PartnerandHeadof
CommunicationsandEngagement,
AfricaCreativeAgency
AUDIT PARTNER: SNG Grant Thornton