African entrepreneurs are changing the Business landscape.From hi-tech to fashion to branding, start-ups are transforming the continent and supercharging commerce.
The African continent is bursting with jewels and ingenuity.
Boasting several countries with the fastest growing global economies , the Sub-Saharan African region is a vast business ecosystem, with gems hidden under rough terrains.
How does a person turn a passion into a lucrative business? Definitely by becoming purposeful about it.
McKevin Ayaba is a Professional IT Engineer who turned Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. He is an Ecosystem Builder, Catalyst for Africa’s Economic Development, Innovation Economy Strategist, Speaker, Startup Judge, advocate for Inclusion and Diversity.
He is very passionate about entrepreneurship especially the development of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem in Africa.
He enjoys assisting and supporting startup founders/owners to understand, start, grow, and scale their businesses.
As an Ecosystem Builder, McKevin wears many hats. He is the Africa Ambassador for Global Startup Awards. He is the Founder and CEO of Setup A Startup.
Setup a Startup is a not-for-profit organisation registered in South Africa. It is a One Stop Shop for entrepreneurs. A place that shares ideas, experience, and networks to help others connect, learn, and grow their business.
They celebrate success and learn from failure. Their focus is to help SMEs and startups in raising the capital they need.
To achieve this, they developed and launched our Investment Readiness Programme (IRP) digital platform. The IRP connect entrepreneurs with Investors and Mentors and allow entrepreneurs to develop knowledge and skills, start a new and innovative business, or grow an existing one.
Their Mission is to facilitate and catalyze innovation, entrepreneurial development, and business success that fosters sustainable economic growth across Africa. Their goal is to help entrepreneurs turn their big ideas and visions into successful and scalable companies.
Their objective is to simplify the entrepreneurship process and make entrepreneurship accessible and inclusive to everyone.
He is the Founder of the Southern Africa Startup Awards, a circuit of the Global Startup Awards. The Awards was launched in 2018 and 2019 and saw over 6000 startups and ecosystem builders participated from across 15 Southern African countries.
He was one of the winners of the 2015 inaugural Festival of Ideas competition organised by the Gordon Institute of Business Science department of Social Entrepreneurship looking for the best candidate with the best idea that impacts the community.
He was honoured as a Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2018 by the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation for the House of Hope Orphanage he co-founded.The orphanage is a home for over 48 children.
He was named Top African 500 Doers by Tropics Magazine in 2019 for his work in supporting African entrepreneurs and fostering a conducive and inclusive entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem across Africa.
In September 2020, he was appointed as the World Business Angels Investment Forum International Partner for South Africa by the World Business Angels Investment Forum.
World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) is an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
McKevin, has participated as a Judge, Speaker, and Panellist at over 200 events across Africa, Asia, Europe, and USA.
His topics includes but not limited to Entrepreneurship, Ecosystem Building, Startups and Innovation, 4IR, Digital Economy, Diversity, Culture and Inclusion, Access to Market and Capital, and Policy with a focus on Africa.
Prior to becoming an entrepreneur and a change maker, McKevin held senior management positions as an IT Officer at AMSCO- A United Nation Development Programme project, System Administrator at Barloworld Logistics and IT Engineer at First National Bank South Africa.
McKevin is an MCSE, CISSP & an IT Consultant by profession with a graduate degree coupled with multiple certifications in Information Technology and Startup Ecosystems building. https://setupastartup.org
