“Little Dreamers” Shantel Marekera is in running for US$80k Äänit prize and she needs your vote!
Zimbabwe’s Shantel Marekera is one of five African finalists competing for the US$80 000 Äänit Prize, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation has announced.
The awards organisers have introduced an Audience Choice Award. The venture with the most votes will win $1000. You can vote for Shantel on https://www.mandelarhodes.org/alumni/aanit-prize/finalists/
The voting panel is a pop channel on the lower right hand corner. Refresh the page if you don’t see it.
“We are tremendously proud to be offering the Äänit Prize in its second year. Each of these ventures has the potential to make a difference in the lives of people who have been left behind on our continent, which is exactly the type of value-driven entrepreneurship that we aim to support and develop at the MRF,” said MRF CEO Judy Sikuza.
Five finalists from Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe are individuals working in African ventures that deliver or have the potential to deliver positive social impact for some of Africa’s most marginalised people. Their projects in areas ranging from early childhood development, to medical technology and renewable energy.
An external panel of judges will make the final decision and the winner will be announced live in a special ceremony co-hosted by MRF CEO Judy Sikuza, and Trek4Mandela Project Manager Sina Moyane, on 17 September 2022 at 18:30 CAT livestream (https://bit.ly/3eCEYYs) for the awards\
Shantel Marekera is a 2019 Rhodes Scholar from Zimbabwe and a legal consultant to the World Bank.
The next Condoleeza Rice, as she describes herself on her Twitter page, is up for the award for founding Little Dreamers. This is a pre-school in Budiriro Cabs, Harare that provides access to quality and affordable foundational education for low-income children between the ages of four and seven.
Students receive access to age-appropriate equipment, learning materials and infrastructure that would otherwise only be available in expensive private schools. It has graduated four classes since 2019.
Through the gender equality division, Little Dreamers champions women’s rights as well as spearheads core and programmatic support to advance women’s economic empowerment.
To date, Little Dreamers has supported the transition of 600+ women from low-income families into decent work and self-employment using a community-based approach to skills development. The women continue to receive support in financial literacy and product marketing.
Little Dreamers hopes to start a junior school and expand its reach to other high-density areas such as Glen Norah, Glenview and Highfield.
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