Zambian company, Dot Com Zambia and their start up project called ‘Bus Tickets Zambia’ was named the 2015 New Venture Winner at the 17th Annual Africa Business Conference, held at the Harvard Business School Campus in Boston, on Saturday February 27^th, 2015.

The theme for this year’s conference, which was hosted by the University’s Africa Business Club, was “A more inclusive Africa: The pursuit of progress for all”. The objective of the New Ventures Program is to showcase Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs that are focused on solving Africa’s problems. Along with the accolades, the university has awarded Dot Com Zambia a $15,000 grant towards the project. $10,000 of which was awarded by a distinguished group of experts, while $5000 was a viewer’s choice award voted for by the delegates at the conference, where Mawano Kambeu, Managing Director of Dot Com Zambia, delivered a powerful 3 minute pitch about Bus Tickets Zambia to the audience.

Speaking in Boston, Mawano states, “For any business, start up or established, there is no greater honor than being recognized by Harvard Business School and there is no better motivation then having some of the world’s top business leaders and academic minds telling you that you have the capability of changing Africa. I am proud for my organization and I am proud for the people of Zambia”

Mawano further explained that conference had many companies with great ideas that were inspirational. On paper the concept of bus ticketing seems like a fairly standard project that hundreds of companies have done, but Bus Tickets Zambia in essence is a national transport system that will have tremendous social and economic impact to the African traveler through technological efficiencies, with some of the experts stating that Bus Tickets Zambia could be the template model for much of the continent. To his fellow Zambian Entrepreneurs, Mawano says, “Don’t give up! It is hard out there, we are working 18hrs a day with little resources and even for this project we have been met with lots of road blocks and challenges, not to mention it is hard to get cooperation from stakeholders, but it can be done, so don’t give up”

This is not the first accolade that Dot Com Zambia has received for their technology solutions for the Zambian market. Bus Tickets Zambia recently won second place, last November, at the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Competition in Morocco sponsored by the U.S Government.

(Picture Credit: Mawano Kambeu (2^nd from left) with the Dot Com Zambia team)

Contacts:

Dot Com Zambia

ATT: Mawano Kambeu

30 Manda Hill Road

Olympia Park, Lusaka

Zambia

E-mail [email protected]

Tel: 0974-472128