Zoona, an African mobile payments business that helps communities thrive, by enabling emerging entrepreneurs to provide much needed financial services in their communities, has accepted an award for Social Entrepreneurship at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship (AAE).
The awards, dubbed “The Oscars of Entrepreneurship”, were hosted by the African Leadership Network at its annual gathering in Mauritius, themed “The Art of Leadership”. Co-founders and brothers Brett and Brad Magrath accepted the award on behalf of the company.
Chief people sfficer at Zoona, Brad Magrath, comments: “We are honored to have been recognized among organisations that are such a force for positive change on the African continent. We strive to take our core purpose of helping communities thrive into more African countries, and to continue the promotion of an African culture of entrepreneurship and growth.”
The Social Entrepreneurship award category recognizes organisations with revenues between $150 000 and $2,5-million that are addressing a social problem for communities in Africa.
The primary objective of Zoona’s ‘Helping Communities Thrive’ vision is to facilitate the creation of emerging entrepreneurs in impoverished communities in Africa. The business addresses the challenge of poor financial inclusion on the continent, and thereby supports social fabrics by stimulating local economies in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Zoona has experienced many highs this year. It successfully raised $15-million dollars (R200-million) in a second round of financing, the company was a finalist at the Pricecheck awards for best Fin-tech platform, and finally, it was included on Fin-tech Africa’s Top 100 list of top Fin-tech companies in Africa. In 2017 Zoona will continue to leverage mobile technology to enable entrepreneurs and provide them with access to finance, business training and support to ensure their success.
“We have had a very exciting year and look forward to reaching more communities, entering new African markets, and empowering more entrepreneurs for many years to come. We appreciate the recognition and will continue to strive,” Magrath says.
