Entrepreneurship in the Diaspora is the topic; a very important topic particularly for African descendants in the Diaspora. Apart from the Americas , the number of African descendants living in Europe is growing and so are the communities. Yes, there are pros and contras relating to the state of the Black African communities in Europe , especially in Germany . But the necessity for successful entrepreneurial activities by people of African descent is undoubted. The African Youth Foundation initiated the Adler Entrepreneurship Awards in 2005 to encourage entrepreneurship within the African communities. The 2006 award event took place in Bonn on the 2^nd of December as reported here.

The Adler Awards team, under the leadership of Dr. Paulyn Jansen made it happen again. The 2^nd Adler Entrepreneurship Awards event took place at the four-star Guenewig Hotel Bristol in Bonn on the 2^nd of December 2006 . The impressive lobby of the venue and friendly professionalism of the organizers exude an atmosphere of grand event. Guests and awards’ nominees were provided with printed information about the African Youth Foundation (AYF), The Adler Entrepreneurship Awards and the agenda of the event before being guided to their respective seats in the conference hall. Special guests of the event included His Excellency Horst Naaß (Mayor of Bonn), His Excellency Florin Amin Atse (La Cote D’Ivoire Ambassador to Germany )andMinister Tony Eze, Minister of Politics (Embassy of the Republic of Nigeria to Germany ).

The event began with the lady moderator welcoming the attendees and giving a general overview of the nomination procedure. She later called on Horst Naas, Florin Amin Ats and lastly on the executive director of the AYF, Paulyn Jansen to give their opening and welcome speeches. The mayor of Bonn expressed his gratitude for the invitation to the event and his support for the Adler Awards. The La Cote D’Ivoire Ambassador to Germany commended the efforts of the Paulyn Jansen and her team and vowed the embassy’s continuous support for the organization.

In her speech, Paulyn Jansen told the story of how she developed the idea of giving entrepreneurship awards and chose the eagle as the emblem. She wanted to know whether there are industrious people of African descent in Germany who are contributing constructively to their communities. The main aim of the awards is to act as stimulus and motivate African descendants in their creative entrepreneurial efforts. Moreover, the awards should foster collaboration between people from different fields of activities to create synergy leading to more business and investment opportunities. The German word ‘Adler’ means eagle. The eagle symbolizes strength, which is an essential characteristic in entrepreneurial endeavours. Referring to the awards, she explained the tedious task of the jury in selecting a winner out of the 3 nominees from each category. She went on to introduce each member of the jury and wishing the audience a pleasant evening, she declared the commencement of awards’ presentation.

The introduction of the nominees, announcement of the winners and presentation of the awards began after a brief music interlude provided by two young talented African vocalists. The moderator was joined on stage by Dr. Osei Asante Gyapong, the CEO of JAAG Consultancy and co-organizer of the event. He gave a short speech about the motives of the event before announcing the nominees. In every category, the profile of each nominee was presented via projection on a large screen and voice recordings. The following emerged as winners of the 2^nd Adler Entrepreneurship Awards 2006:

Authors: Patrick Addai

Business and Entrepreneurs: Samson Adjei (Samtec-GmbH)

Civil Society/NGOs: African Cultural Institute (Prof. Charles Abraham Yankah)

Legal: Christophe Kabambe 

Media:

News and Politics: Afritopic

Society Magazines: African Heritage (Kenneth Gbandi)

Entertainers: Mo Asumang

Special Award Winners:

Best African Embassy in Germany : Embassy of the Republic of Nigeria

Best European supporting African Initiatives:  Mrs. Dorothea Hahn (Liebfrauenschule)

The awards were presented to winners by Paulyn Jansen, 2 members of the Jury, the moderator and 2 previous award winners. Last year’s special ward winner in the category “Best African Embassy”, hisExcellency Florin Amin Atsepresented Minister Tony Eze of theNigerian embassywith the award. Cassidy Osuji, the CEO of Telecass GmbH and previous winner of the award presented the CEO of samtec GmbH, Mr. Samson Adjei, with the ward as best in the category “Business and Entrepreneurs”. Ama-Pokua von Pereira, a lawyer who won the award in the category “legal” in 2005 presented this year’s winner, Christophe Kabambe, with the award. Dorothea Hahn, an employee of Liebfrauenschule in Bonn , received her award as the “Best European Supporting African Initiatives” from Siegfried Pater, an Oscar Romero Prize award winner, film director and author. The presentations were accompanied by many rounds of applause. Each award winner gave a short speech with thanks to the organizers and the guests.

After the presentations, Paulyn Jansen came on stage to introduce her team members and announce a surprise for the nominees that have not won the award; as non-winners of the award, the 2 other nominees in each category should not leave the event empty-handed, she said. Each of these nominees received a certificate of merit. She urged all winners of the award to help in strengthening the organization and expressed her thanks to all. With the confidence that the Adler Entrepreneurship Awards would grow stronger, more popular and attract even more people next year, she declared the event as closed.

During the reception that followed, press photographers took pictures and journalists conducted interviews. Music was provided by an African group, food and drinks were served while attendees made new contacts. The success of the event was celebrated till dawn by a group of award winners, guests and organizers. There is every reason to praise and support the work of Paulyn Jansen and her team. The next event is planned for December 2007.

Afritopic 2006