OUR WHY

Why did we start Startup Of the Year awards you ask?. When we recognise the founder of a business through FOYA Awards, we recognise the soul of the business, however, when we recognise the business through SOYA Awards, we recognise the whole body - the family of individuals that put in the time and sweat to grow the company.

Therefore, to keep the morale of all teams high, we must recognize the company as a body. Hence, appreciate everyone that has had an impact on its growth.

ABOUT SOYA

After running in Kenya for four years in 2020 FOYA expanded into Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. We did not stop there, FOYA in 2021 marked a milestone as we expanded the awards to include Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa.

In 2022, we decided not only to recognize founders but also the businesses they were running, hence, the introduction of Startup Of The Year Awards (SOYA Awards) by FOYA Awards. This means that when one submits an application to be a nominee for FOYA, he/she automatically submits their business for SOYA Awards.

SOYA Awards exists to recognize startups that are building trailblazing services and products and employing thousands of young people in Africa.

Categories

Previous nominees will have their businesses nominated for SOYA under the following categories:

Founder of The Year - Startup of The Year

Social Founder of The Year - Social Enterprise of The Year

Techpreneur of The Year - Tech startup of The Year

Fashionpreneur of The Year - Fashion startup of The Year

Most Promising Founder of The Year - Most Promising startup of The Year

Agripreneur of The Year - Agribusiness of The Year

Realtor of The Year - Real Estate Start up of The Year

Edupreneur of The Year - Education startup of The Year

Hospitality Founder of The Year - Hospitality startup of The Year

Healthpreneur of The Year - Health startup of The Year

Entertainment Founder of The Year - Entertainment startup of The Year

Mediapreneur of The Year - Media startup of The Year

Manufacturing Founder of The Year - Manufacturing startup of The Year

WHY IT MATTERS

By activating the campaign to win this award, you have given your teams and employees a sense of winning and a sign that you are headed to the right place as a company hence inspiring growth. You are also assuring your customers that they are in safe hands. You are verifying your credibility!