2022 AWIEF: ZAAF Collection’s Director Bags Creative Industry Award
ADDIS ABABA – The 2022 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Awards announced in a ceremony held in Cairo.
The annual event celebrates women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s economy.
The winners of the 2022 edition of the AWIEF Awards were selected from 24 finalists in eight categories.
Ethiopian representative Abai Schulze, founder and creative director of ZAAF Collection, was among the winners.
She won the Creative Industry Award, beating the other two finalists Zimbabwean Barbara Kamba-Nyathi, CEO of Bold Dialogue, and South African Vénicia Guinot, Chairwoman of Tropics Group of Companies.
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.
The 2022 AWIEF Awards winners List
Young Entrepreneur Award: Gisèla Van Houcke, Founder and CEO of Zuri Luxury Hair and Beauty, from DR Congo
Tech Entrepreneur Award: Sahar Salama, Founder and CEO of TPAY Mobile, from Egypt
Agri Entrepreneur Award: Korka Diaw, President of Réseau des Agricultrices du Nord, from Senegal
Emergy Entrepreneur Award: Mona Al Adawy, Founder and CEO of GeoEnergy Petroleum Services, from Egypt
Social Entrepreneur Award: Lumbie Mlambo, Founder and CEO of JB Dondolo, from Zimbabwe
Empowerment Award: Martha Alade, Founder of Women in Technology in Nigeria (WITIN), from Nigeria.
AWIEF CEO, Irene Ochem congratulated the winners and thanked both the AWIEF Awards international panel of judges and all those who submitted their nominations.
