The Future Awards Prize for African Young Person of the Year
NAME: Michael Kwesi Owusu (Sarkodie)
AGE: 28
TITLE: Musical Artiste
PROFILE
A recording artist, entertainer, and brand ambassador. He is recognised as one of the leading Hip hop and Hip Life artists in Ghana a major proponents of the Azonto genre and dance. In 2013, he signed an endorsement deal with FanMilk Ghana. Sarkodie is currently in partnership with Tigo Telecommunications Ghana, a brand that sponsored the 2013 Rapperholic tour.
Ranked the 8th on Forbes and Channel O’s 2013 list of the Top10 Richest/Bankable African Artistes, he is the first Ghanaian to win the BET Awards for “Best International Act Africa”.
Sarkodie won four awards at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 2014, including Vodafone Song of The Year. He also won big in the 2012 BET Awards as Best International Act.
NAME: Sangu Delle
AGE: 27
TITLE: Co-Founded cleanacwa
PROFILE
Delle built a clean water organization that has impacted tens of thousands of people in rural Liberia and Ghana. Born in Ghana, his childhood home was a refuge for victims of torture and violence from neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone.
At Harvard, enrolling in the Social Engagement Initiative program that bridged the academic study and practical service gap, Delle co-founded cleanacwa (formerly the African Development Initiative), which embarked on a five-year project to bring sanitation and clean water to Agyementi, a village in Ghana. Cleanacwa is currently working to bring clean water and sanitation to over 60,000 people in 120 villages in the Ayensuano and Suhum districts in
In 2013, he endowed the Sangu Delle Fund for Social Engagement at Harvard University in honor of his mentor Professor Evelyn Higginbotham to help fund the next generation of social entrepreneurs.
In 2014, he set up a fund at Harvard College to create a scholarship in honor of his mother Amira Delle, who wasn’t able to attend college.
This scholarship will help fund African girls to attend Harvard University.
Convinced that the real needs of communities can best be met through entrepreneurship, in 2008 he founded an investment holding company, Golden Palm Investments (GPI) to fund promising start-ups that can have social impact and generate jobs. GPI has backed startups such as Solo Mobile in Nigeria, mPharma in Ghana, Stawi Foods in Kenya and Zamsolar in Zambia.
GPI has also built a portfolio of greenfield companies in healthcare, real estate, agriculture and financial services