Western Union Foundation, USAID Announce Winners of Second African Diaspora Marketplace Competition
Western Union Foundation, USAID Announce Winners of Second African Diaspora Marketplace Competition
The United States Agency for International Development, Western Union, and the Western Union Foundation have announced the names of seventeen U.S.-based entrepreneurs who will receive matching grants to fund innovative business plans and help promote economic growth in Africa through the second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM II) competition.
Launched in 2009, ADM II is a public-private initiative that works to harness the knowledge and resources of U.S.-based entrepreneurs to advance the ability of small- and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in Africa to secure capital. Forty-four of the nearly five hundred plans submitted — most in the categories of agribusiness, information and communications technology, and renewable energy — vied for the top awards.
Winning proposals included a Kenyan agribusiness that is implementing sustainable "zero-waste" practices through the commercial production of high-efficiency organic fertilizer; the first legal technology provider in Tunisia; an alternative-power generator in Liberia that utilizes agricultural waste; and an online medical information delivery system in Nigeria. Each awardee is eligible for a total investment of up to $70,000, which includes up to $50,000 in matching cash grants and as much as $20,000 in technical assistance.
"The African Diaspora Marketplace will strengthen and help satisfy demand for locally produced products and services," said USAID administrator Rajiv Shah. "These businesses will buy, sell, and hire from within the communities they serve, putting money into the local economy, building local capacity, and fueling broad-based economic development."
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