Judges Announced for the 2022 YEPI Entrepreneurship Summit Pitch Competition!

YEPI has announced the three judges set to evaluate startups competing at the inaugural YEPI Entrepreneurship Summit Pitching Competition, to be held in Mombasa, February 5, 2022 at Sai Rock Beach Hotel from 8:00am – 5:00pm.

The judging panel is comprised of Mohammed Gharib, Founder Uhired.Me, Carol Odera, Founder, WISE Kenya and Mercy Wafula, Business Development Manager, AEC.

A live audience, as well as this panel of expert judges, will discover advancements in various sectors of businesses on YESMombasa2022 Pitch Competition at Sai Rock Beach Hotel. During the sixth annual event, 4 interactive startup companies from 3 counties across the coast region will compete for their chance to win. These startups will dazzle a live audience with their business pitch and Q&A with our panel of judges. The winning startup will win prizes and in-kind support from YEPI and Partners including 6 months’ free incubation at YEPI’s CE-Hub, a one-on-one investor meeting, mentorship with judges, free marketing package and continuous business development support.

YEPI relies on hand-picked judges, qualified to determine the viability of a startup based on their demonstrated business experience. The judging process will determine which of the finalists has the most innovative product or service with potential for social impact, profitability and how the YEPI experienced has positioned them as the best entrepreneurs to execute the business. These individuals have agreed to contribute their expertise toward the success of the YEPI Entrepreneurship Summit.

Mohamed Gharib is an experienced Researcher and Entrepreneur passionate about the youth and social enterprise development. Coming from a technology consultancy background, Mohamed holds a Bachelor of I.T and an Msc in Technology Management from Staffordshire University. In 2011, he co-founded uhired.me a recruitment portal targeting non-profits in Africa. As VP for East Africa at 1000 Alternatives, Mohamed has gained considerable experience managing Innovation in the Youth Startup Ecosystem.

Carol Odera is the founder of Women In Sustainable Enterprises (WISE) Kenya, a social enterprise that empowers women and girls within the fishing villages of Lake Victoria through alternative sustainable enterprises and leadership skills. She is also a Co-founder and Managing Partner at Winam Capital- an entrepreneurship ecosystem enabler working with SMEs in the Lake region counties. She is an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative under the Business & Entrepreneurship track at Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey. Her work has received recognitions and awards including; Top40under40 women in Kenya 2018 by Business Daily, Top 100 most positively Inspiring Youths in Africa by Positive Youths Africa in 2017 and Kenya National Diversity and Inclusion Gender Equality Champion 2nd Runners Up 2019.

Mercy Wafula is the Business Development Manager, African Entrepreneur Collective (AEC-Kenya).

Mercy is an SME growth professional. She currently leads AEC-Kenya Mombasa branch. She has 9+ years of consulting experience in both the private and public sectors. She has provided strategic advisory to companies/organisations within East Africa. Mercy is a certified public accountant (CPA)( K) and holds a B.com(finance) from Jomo Kenyatta University of agriculture and technology in Kenya.

The competition, the Sixth of its kind to be held by YEPI, will be taking place on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at Sai Rock Beach Hotel in Mombasa’s North.

Registration to the summit is open here and will close on Friday, Monday 31. Reserve your space to see the exciting YEPI Entrepreneurship Summit Pitch Competition live in February