African billionaire to speak at Imbuto’s Award ceremony

Ashish Thakkar, Africa’s youngest billionaire is set to speak at the Young Rwandan Achievers Awards ceremony scheduled to take place in Kigali today.The bi-annual event dubbed Celebrating Young Rwandan Achievers (CYRWA) is hosted by Imbuto Foundation under the leadership of the First Lady, Jeannette Kagame.During the ceremony, outstanding Rwandans aged 18-35 are recognized for their exceptional accomplishments or contribution towards the betterment of society.The 2013 ceremony is the 4th edition and will be held under the theme “We are the ones we have been waiting for”Imbuto Foundation invites nominations from the public and the winners are selected based on a rigorous criteria that includes demonstration of leadership qualities, creativity, ability to inspire fellow youth and motivate fellow youth as well and devotion towards the development of Rwanda.According to a statement from Imbuto Foundation, prior to the awards ceremony, a youth forum comprising outstanding panelists is held to discuss how the youth can achieve their full potential.“The panelists will engage and inspire an audience of 200 young professionals to go above and beyond what is expected of them, in the professional and personal spheres,” the statement read in part.About ThakkarThe Awards Ceremony guest speaker, Ashish Thakkar, is the founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation. Passionate about entrepreneurship, Ashish started his first IT company back in 1996 at the age of 15. Since then, Ashish has successfully driven the growth of Mara to become a globally recognized multi-sector conglomerate with operations in 26 countries and employing over 7,000 people worldwide.The culmination of his business achievements has been instituting Mara Foundation, the social enterprise of Mara Group which focuses on emergingAfrican entrepreneurs with comprehensive support services, including mentorship, funding, incubation center workspace and business training, to help transform entrepreneurs’ business ideas into profitable and thriving business entities.Ashish’s leadership in the field of African business was recognized when he was appointed as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2012.Ashish also sits on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on AfricaDuring the last 3 editions of CYRWA, 22 remarkable young Rwandan men and women were awarded for various achievements related to leadership, entrepreneurship, art, sciences and community mobilization.

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African billionaire to speak at Imbuto’s Award ceremony