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Wanted: Young African Entrepreneurs

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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AYc1mDurUv4/UT99cjRKdvI/AAAAAAAACk0/8vrRywNOsvo/s1600/anzisha.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AYc1mDurUv4/UT99cjRKdvI/AAAAAAAACk0/8vrRywNOsvo/s640/anzisha.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10635"><i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10634"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10633" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">PRESS REALESE </span></i></b></div>
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<b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10635"><i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10634"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10633" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Enter or Nominate Young Businesspeople for Africa’s Richest Youth Entrepreneur Awards – the Anzisha Prize</span></i></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="http://www.anzishaprize.org/">With more than $75 000 USD</a> in prizes it’s one of Africa’s richest youth entrepreneurial competitions and young businesspeople from around the continent are encouraged to enter. <br /><br />The prestigious Anzisha Prize rewards young African entrepreneurs who are making a difference by transforming their communities. It celebrates initiative and innovation and identifies those who are leading by example and underscores their ability to significantly shape the future of Africa.</span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />With $75 000 USD in cash prizes, the Anzisha Prize is hosted by the African Leadership Academy in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. There is also a $10 000 USD Energy Prize which will be awarded to the applicant who demonstrates ingenuity in developing sustainable renewable energy sources. </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The Anzisha Prize is open to entrepreneurs from around the African continent aged between 15 and 22.  Entries can be completed online at www.anzishaprize.org - in either English or French - with the closing deadline on April 1, 2013.  Individuals, teachers and organisations are also being called on to nominate young entrepreneurs in their communities.  </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to the African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, to attend a weeklong entrepreneurship conference and awards gala. While there, they will be taught by the ALA’s renowned Entrepreneurial Leadership faculty as well as experienced business mentors. Winners will share $75,000 USD, courtesy of The MasterCard Foundation, and be given networking and learning opportunities to take their projects to the next level. </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Twenty-one- year-old Andrew Mupuya of Uganda was announced as the grand prize winner of last year’s Anzisha Prize thanks to his paper bag production company, Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI). Past winners have included Kenya’s Diana Mong’are who founded recycling company Planet Green and became an evangelist for environmental conservation in her community; Ghana’s Yaw Duffour-Awuah who at the age of 16 launched a micro-lending company which has now grown to a financial services company; and Antoinette Furaha from the Democratic Republic of Congo who began a small micro-credit services company that invests in and empowers young refugee women in Uganda.</span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />For more information visit:</span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />•          <a href="http://www.anzishaprize.org/">http://www.anzishaprize.org</a></span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />•          <a href="http://www.facebook.com/anzishaprize">http://www.facebook.com/anzishaprize</a></span></div>
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<i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10688"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1363112919968_10687" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the Internet Corporation for the Anzisha Prize.</span></i></div>
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Wanted: Young African Entrepreneurs

PRESS REALESE Enter or Nominate Young Businesspeople for Africa’s Richest Youth Entrepreneur Awards – the Anzisha Prize With more th...

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African Ministers Discuss Innovation and IP at WIPO Conference

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<span style="font-size: large;">Some twenty African ministers, senior policy makers and enterpreneurs joined President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania and WIPO Director General Francis Gurry at the opening of <a href="http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2013/wipo_inn_dar_13/">a two-day conference in Dar es Salaam</a> to discuss the role of intellectual property (IP) in stimulating innovation and development.  The conference, organized by WIPO and the Japan Patent Office in cooperation with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, is also addressing the importance of innovation in dealing with some of today’s most pressing global challenges, such as public health, food security and climate change. <br /><br />Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete said proper use of intellectual property can contribute to economic development and the eradication of poverty in African countries.  He said “IP policies should be integrated with development policies.” The President appealed to development partners “to explore the possibilities of increasing support to African countries in IP issues.”  He stressed “IP issues should be regarded as development issues. They should not be dealt with in isolation.” </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />“Africa has a great tradition of innovation and creativity,” Mr. Gurry said in opening the </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/meetings/en/2013/wipo_inn_dar_13/pdf/program.pdf">African Conference on the Strategic Importance of Intellectual Property (IP) Policies to Foster Innovation, Value Creation and Competitiveness</a>. “And innovation is a central driver of economic growth, development and better jobs. It is the key for firms to compete successfully in the global marketplace.” <br /><br />Mr. Gurry added that “intellectual property is an indispensable mechanism for translating knowledge into commercial assets – IP rights create a secure environment for investment in innovation and provide a legal framework for trading in intellectual assets.” He noted that investment in knowledge creation, and the maintenance of a robust and balanced IP system, should feature prominently in any strategy to ensure sustainable economic growth, and pledged the Organization’s commitment in assisting countries to develop national innovation strategies.  </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Mr. Toshihiro Kose, Director General, Trademark, Design and Administrative Affairs Department, Japan Patent Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said “Japan is fully committed to supporting the development of Africa’s IP systems through its funds-in-trust for Africa and LDCs program that is managed by WIPO.”  Mr. Kose stressed that “effective IP systems stimulate innovation.”  He pointed out that this conference is the largest organized this fiscal year through its funds-in-trust program, adding, “I hope it will be a successful occasion to foster a better environment for accelerating protection and utilization of IP in Africa.” </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The conference brings together ministers responsible for IP related matters, ministers for science and technology, heads of IP offices, as well as representatives of research and development (R&D) institutions and innovation centers, entrepreneurs from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), major industrial companies operating in Africa, regional economic communities and regional financial institutions to discuss a wide-ranging agenda on how the continent can best capitalize on IP for promoting innovation. </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The </span>  <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=28686">main topics</a> that will be covered during the conference are: <br />Innovation policies and strategies;<br />Use of existing knowledge and information to promote innovation and technology transfer (including patent databases, technology and innovation support center (TISC), Patentscope, WIPO Re:Search, etc), along with appropriate innovation research training, tools and techniques, to find solutions to problems to today’s most pressing policy challenges;<br />Use of the IP system to promote and capture innovation in Africa and identify the common elements of an effective innovation policy and the IP elements that should be integrated into such a policy. <br /><br />Ministers and senior officials taking part in the conference will remain in Dar es Salaam to participate in a meeting jointly organized by WIPO and the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on March 14, 2013.  ECOSOC’s Annual Ministerial Review (AMR): Regional Preparatory Meeting for Africa will help determine Africa’s contribution to the annual Ministerial ECOSOC meeting which will take place in July 2013 in Geneva.  The meeting will address the role of science, technology and innovation in achieving the development goals of the Africa. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span>

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African Ministers Discuss Innovation and IP at WIPO Conference

Some twenty African ministers, senior policy makers and enterpreneurs joined President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzani...