Director of ZAAF Collection Reaches AWIEF Awards Final

ADDIS ABABA – Creative Director of Addis Ababa-based ZAAF Collection, Abai Schulze, announced as a finalist for the 2022 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Awards in the category Creative Industry.

The annual Awards recognizes women entrepreneurs and business owners across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to Africa’s inclusive economic and social development.

On Monday, the AWIEF said a panel of judges selected the 24 finalists across eight categories.

These finalists include entrepreneurs and business leaders representing companies from a range of sectors and operating in 12 different African countries including Ethiopia.

The Director ZAAF Collection Abai is among the three finalists in the award, which looks for successful creative women businesses working in Africa.

Abai founded ZAAF, premium leather goods and accessories collection handcrafted by artisans in Ethiopia, in 2014. The brand has since been recognized globally – from the runways at New York Fashion Week, to being featured in Vogue, Elle, and Forbes, receiving the UNESCO Tremplin Prize for Entrepreneurship.

Zimbabwean Barbara Kamba-Nyathi, CEO of Bold Dialogue, and South African Vénicia Guinot, Chairwoman of Tropics Group of Companies, are the other two entrepreneurs vying for the AWIEF Creative Industry Award.

The Award winners will be announced at a special ceremony and gala dinner at the AWIEF2022 conference at the end of September 2022.

[Featureed Image; Courtesy of Abai Schulze via Forbes]