From being one of the only LaunchX students from Kenya in 2020, Salah Osman is now building the AwardX East Africa program to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in his home community. Here’s his vision and how he’s getting closer and closer to it.
‘Strong to Serve’: More Than Just a Business
Salah’s journey began at Alliance High School in Kenya, where he developed a deep passion for service and leadership, inspired by his school’s motto, Strong to Serve. This passion fueled his determination to tackle the challenges his community faced through innovation and entrepreneurship.
When Salah participated in the LaunchX program, he gained invaluable insights into the power of entrepreneurship as a catalyst for change. Collaborating with talented peers and receiving mentorship sharpened his vision of creating opportunities for Africa’s youth. All of his entrepreneurial experience has led him to realize that entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money building businesses, “it’s about creating lasting change and empowering others to reimagine what’s possible.”
AwardX East Africa: A Vision for Transformation
“Africa has so much untapped talent,” Salah explains. “All we need is to provide the right environment for these young minds to thrive.” With 62% of Africa’s population under the age of 25, this presents an enormous opportunity to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.
Salah pitched for a program in his hometown of Kenya directly to LaunchX CEO Forest Richter. “I heard him out, like I would anybody,” Forest recounts. “I asked him to prove [the economics] to me to make it easy to say ‘yes,’ and to his credit, he did just that.” Always ready to overperform, Salah and the LaunchX team moved quickly and brainstormed a way to move into this new market. “We were off to the races,” says Forest.
AwardX East Africa is a high school startup pitch competition with LaunchX giving away $2,000 usd and scholarships to the program for all of its finalists. This Initiative is a result of the belief in the transformative power of entrepreneurship.
A Future Fueled by Innovation
“Growing up, I had access to resources that many in marginalized areas didn’t,” Salah reflects. “AwardX East Africa is about bridging that gap and giving every young African the chance to dream big and succeed.”
With strong support from schools, stakeholders, and partners like his alma mater, Alliance High School, AwardX East Africa presents an exciting opportunity to engage with a new demographic of innovative students. But this is just the beginning; our core mission is to build viable programs across East Africa for entrepreneurship and innovation.
Building Africa’s ‘Silicon Valley’
The vision extends far beyond pitch competitions. Salah aims to build Africa’s ‘Silicon Valley’ as a collaboration, learning, and growth hub. He believes that by fostering an environment where young entrepreneurs can tackle real-world problems, Africa can become a global leader in business and technology.
“Please join me in empowering Africa’s future entrepreneurs,” Salah urges. “This is just the beginning, and together, we can build a brighter future.”
Connect with Salah here.
Are you a high school student based in East Africa? Submit your big idea to the AwardX pitch competition by March 26th, 2025.
Are you an organization or individual who would like to explore partnership opportunities with AwardX or AwardX East Africa? Reach out to salah.adan@team.launchx.com to explore possibilities.