Winners of the SFAN Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award
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Stars From All Nations, the education company that unlocks the potential of the youth, convened a critical mass of innovators and bright thinkers at the first-ever Global Student Entrepreneurship Week held on September 28-29, 2020.
The two-day event received participation from thought leaders such as Lord Dr. Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, Global Head of Corporate Citizenship for KPMG International, Ms. Violette Uwamutara, Regional Advisor Africa and Country Director of Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda, Ms. Fatima Alimohammed, CEO of African Brand Warriors, Mr. Claude Grunitzky, Founder of True Africa Dr. Patrick Awuah Jr, Founder of Ashesi University, Mr. Foster Ofosu, Development Specialist at the African Development Bank, and other highly esteemed speakers.
And as part of the brilliant convening, the SFAN team partnered with Southern Africa venture builder Founders Factory Africa and Spain-based digital incubator Bridge For Billions to support student entrepreneurs through the SFAN Student Entrepreneur of The Year Award.
After a careful analysis of the submissions from different parts of the world, SFAN is thrilled to announce the three winners of the award below.
#1: Denislav Marinov, Founder of Amnova Tech
Denislav Marinov is a young South African entrepreneur looking to revolutionize manufacturing across Africa. While pursuing his Honours in Materials Sciences following a BSc in Physics and Chemistry at the University of Cape Town, Denislav has been developing cutting edge Additive Manufacturing (AM) – better known as 3D Printing – technologies.
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He strives to accelerate the advent of sustainable additive manufacturing technologies while fostering the next generation of inspired engineers and scientists. And he is achieving this objective through his startup, Amnova Tech.
Amnova Tech specializes in developing affordable, locally manufactured industrial AM technologies intended to remove entry barriers for individuals and Small to Medium Enterprises entering the production market. Amnova Tech uses its technology tools for rapid prototyping and client part production apart from advancing its proprietary tech.
Denislav believes it is time for Africa to localize its manufacturing capabilities. He believes that additive manufacturing is the key technology necessary to achieve this and cement Africa as a global leader in manufacturing and tech development.
To learn more about this young innovator, visit www.amnovatech.com or send him an email at
#2: Belinda Mabende, Co-Founder of Nature’s Supreme
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Belinda Mabende is a second-year student at Moi University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in pure mathematics. She is an environmentalist with a determination to make a positive impact in Kenya.
In 2019, Belinda teamed up with another entrepreneurship-minded young lady, Assumpta, to tackle the multi-billion dollar market opportunity in hair and hair care products with their startup, Nature Supreme. It is also important to mention that the idea behind this product came to Belinda after Kenya’s government banned traditional synthetic hair products.
Nature Supreme provides affordable hair products such as weaves, hair braids, and wigs. Unlike other such companies, Nature Supreme produces its hair extensions from biodegradable and environmentally friendly sisal fibers.
In October 2019, Belinda and her co-founder faced the KCB Lions Den SN4 EP9 to raise funding to meet customer orders in Canada. Although they are one of the youngest participants in the pitch, Belinda and her co-founder received positive funding feedback from a Lioness who wants to help them grow the business with an investment of 1.3Million Kenyan Shilling. To learn more about Belinda, contact her on belindamabende@gmail.com
#3: Dr. Charles Umeh, Founder of Parkers Mobile Clinic
Dr. Charles Umeh is a Medical Doctor, Family planning advocate, and Telemedicine professional with five years of experience.
As a family planning advocate, he has been nominated for the Bill Gates Foundation 120 under 40 awards in 2017 and 2019. He was also a past country co-ordinator for IYAFP, Nigeria, in 2018.
As a Telemedicine Professional, he has been involved in implementing several digital Health projects, including co-authoring “The Fundamentals of TeleMedicine and TeleHealth” textbook, published by Elsevier.
As an innovative Medical Doctor, Charles operates a mobile clinic called Parkers Mobile Clinic. He renders Healthcare services at the doorstep of the elderly, disabled, chronically ill, and people living in remote areas.
For this project, Dr. Umeh won the 2019 Goethe Institute Ayada Lab Grant, 2019 Openideo Healthy Bone Challenge Award, 2020 Commonwealth Youth Council COVID-19 Grant, 2019 Edinburgh University Community Development Postgraduate Scholarship Award, and the 2020 Scottish Institute of Enterprise Fresh Ideas Grant. He was also recently selected as a judge for the MIT/NESTA/INTUITIVE Foundation Multi-Million dollar Surgical Training Challenge.
To learn more about Dr. Charles Umeh, visit https://www.parkersmobileclinic.com
