Organisations and associations in The Gambia are being encouraged to apply for the Pan African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education 2012.
According to the organisation running the programme, in 2011 they receives entries from 350 organisations from over 27 countries across the continent who applied for the awards which reward pioneering educational organisations that are having a positive impact on local communities within Africa.
On the 20th December 2012 entry to the well renowned competition will close, after which a team of international judges will judge applications according to three criteria.
Firstly the organisation must be entrepreneurial and be developing innovative, replicable and scalable approaches tackling entrenched problems in education; empowering future generations of entrepreneurs.
Secondly the project must be financially, socially and environmentally sustainable, looking beyond donations and subsidies as the primary means of creating positive social and environmental outcomes.
Finally the project must create an impact, achieving measurable results in terms of educational achievement and economic outcomes for participants and their communities
The judging panel will then select and award a first prize of $10,000 to the organizations that best fits these criteria. After which a second and third prize of $5000 will be awarded. These prize winners will also receiver an all expenses paid trip to the 2013 ‘Education That Pays for Itself’ Conference.
The award was launched in 2008 by UK-based charity Teach A Man to Fish, and the competition is generously supported by Educating Africa.
The award is a great benefit to its winners and allows them to develop projects. Ghana Country Prize Winner 2011, Pagus Africa was quoted of saying that “The award allowed us to initiate a paid internship program at one of our schools that is proving very successful”.
The Award also raises the profile of organisations DRC Country Prize Winner 2011 La Floraison said that “the Award that the organisation La Floraison won was published through several national and international newspapers….These media have played a major role in expanding the activities of the organisation in many parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular and the whole world in general.”
Entries can be submitted either by an organisation or on the behalf of another organization. The application process requires a description in 1,000 words or less of the organisation’s key achievements. The application will be judged for entrepreneurship, sustainability and impact by a panel comprised of international business and development experts.
The dispatch added that the deadline for entries is December 20th 2012, and results will be announced in 2013. To apply, organisations are asked to visit the competition website -www.teachamantofish.org.uk/pan-african-awards and complete the simple online application form.
