African Liberty Editor, JJ Omojuwa, has been listed by global business platform Entrepreneur.com as one of the 10 African online entrepreneurs to watch in 2017. Omojuwa who is the Chief Executive Officer, The Alpha Reach, a Digital Media Company operating from Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria, has been at the forefront of promoting free market principles and human rights in Africa since 2011. In 2015, he was named on a list of Africa’s top “50 Movers and Shakers” by Switzerland’s Credit Suisse. He has been seen, read or heard on France 24, DW, Aljazeera, CNN, World Economic Forum, BBC etc.
As a speaker, JJ has participated in various economic, civil society and media development panels as well as at universities across several continents in several countries some of which include: London School of Economics, London, New York University, New York, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin etc. He was a delegate at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+ 20 in Brazil. He was a delegate at the Open Forum Conference at Cape Town’s International Convention Centre on the invitation of the Open Society in South Africa and has led panels organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), The African Development Bank (AfDB), the Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ, The African-German Foundation, The Association of African Ambassadors in Germany, West African Civil Society Institute (WACSI), amongst other local and international organisations. He was one of the speakers at the 2016 Antigua Forum in Central America. In August 2016, he participated in the United States Government’s flagship exchange programme, the International Visitors Leadership programme.
10 African Online Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017
1. Adii Pienaar (South Africa)
Adii Pienaar is a bit of a serial entrepreneur. Two of his best-known ventures are WooThemes and Conversio. Clearly, this man knows how to grow a business. WooThemes, which was initially a developer of WordPress themes, eventually gave birth to WooCommerce — one of the most widely used ecommerce platforms today.
His current venture is Receiptful, which began as a simple email tracker. Now, it has evolved into a full marketing dashboard for ecommerce businesses.
2. Abdullah Muhammed (Nigeria)
Abdullahi Muhammed is a writer and marketer and the founder of Oxygenmat, one of Nigeria’s most popular content-marketing companies. However, that accomplishment is only part of his successful record as an entrepreneur and business leader: He is a lawyer, a World Economic Forum agenda contributor and a respected thought leader in the business and global marketing community.
He is also frequent contributor to publications like Entrepreneur, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and USA TODAY.
3. Njeri Rionge (Kenya)
Njeri Rionge is widely regarded as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Africa. In her tenure as an entrepreneur, she has quickly built and grown several multi-million dollar companies. Her flagship business is Wananchi Group. The company began as an ISP and has expanded to become East Africa’s largest cable, phone and internet provider.
Ronge has a strong belief that Africa will become a powerful startup ecosystem. In fact, she is so dedicated to the success of African entrepreneurs that she once founded a startup incubator, based in Kenya.
4. Japheth Omojuwa (Nigeria)
Japheth Omojuwa (JJ) is an award-winning media personality, social media influencer and activist. He is the founder ofOmojuwa.com and a powerful leader when it comes to Nigerian socio-economic issues.
He has spoken at universities in the United States, Germany and Nigeria. You might have heard Omojuwa on a radio show or seen him on television.
5. Clarisse Iribagiza (Rwanda)
Clarisse Iribagiza is the CEO of HeHe labs, a leading mobile technology company. She has also formed Rwanda’s startup network, “The Hills,” and helped found Safe Boda — an innovative local startup that helps people connect with safe transportation options in Rwanda.
6. Gary Levitt (South Africa)
Gary Levitt has a diverse resume. This former pro skater began his career producing music for the Oprah show. He then took a winding and compelling road to success. This included leaving Oprah’s employ to become a busboy. He also created Mad Mimi, an email app that was later acquired by GoDaddy.
His most recent enterprise is Yala, a bot that can gauge the best time to post on social media feeds and conversations.
7. Rebecca Enonchong (Cameroon)
Rebecca Enonchong is the founder of AppsTech. This is a mobile solutions company that has evolved in an oracle solutions platform. However, Enonchong shouldn’t be defined by one enterprise alone. She is a strong participant in the growth of the African economy and sits on the board of several venture capital and angel investor companies in Cameroon.
8. Linda Ikeji (Nigeria)
Linda Ikeji is a former model and television personality. Yet, she is better known as the business leader behind Lindaikejisblog.com, the most visited online magazine in Nigeria. She has managed to successfully monetize that blog by attracting dozens of ads from big-name Nigerian brands.
While she has occasionally created controversy with her coverage and endorsements, she is someone whose influence is without question. She might even be considered the Kim Kardashian of African media.
9. Gareth Pon (South Africa)
Gareth Pon is an Instagram photographer-extraordinaire. He is also a filmmaker and boasts massive influence on social media, through his half-million followers. You might have seen his witty series of snaps, where he hides a rocket in each pic. Pon is living the influencer dream and travels extensively.
10. Xtian Dela (Kenya)
Arthur Mandela is the given name of Xtian Dela — one of the brightest and most popular media personalities in Kenya. Dela is a blogger and radio show host. Yet, apart from merely sharing fun staff, Dela tries to force change within the country. Since 2014, he’s been promoting the #BringBackOurKDFSolders initiative on Twitter, which has pressured the local government to bring Kenya Defence Forces back from Somalia.