Think Tank Shark Tank competitions are an attendee favorite of each Atlas Network Regional Liberty Forum. During these events, three individuals represent Atlas Network grantees on stage to pitch their organization’s project to a panel of judges, explaining why their proposal will have the greatest impact and why they deserve the top prize. This year at the online Africa Liberty Forum, Nyandire Reinhard Bonke (African Wildlife Economy Institute, South Africa), Leonard Ogunweide (Face of Liberty International, Nigeria), and Evans Exaud (Liberty Sparks, Tanzania) will compete for a US$5,000 award. Read on to find out more about the projects they will pitch.
Nyandire Reinhard Bonke (African Wildlife Economy Institute, South Africa)
As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opens new opportunities for economic empowerment, Nyandire Reinhard Bonke wants to ensure that the agreement’s provisions expand individual ability to trade wildlife products. A reform of non-tariff barriers to commerce in wild meat would enable not only improved livelihoods but would also empower better conservation efforts and resilience to climate change. Bonke’s Liberalizing Intra-African Trade in Wildlife Products project will focus on identifying and understanding non-tariff barriers to the wildlife trade and developing a multi-faceted package to present to the AfCFTA Non-tariff Barrier Reporting, Monitoring, and Elimination Mechanism recommending the best path forward for opening the international wild meat trade.
Leonard Ogunweide (Face of Liberty International, Nigeria)
Unfortunately, the ideas of economic freedom and the free market are not widely understood in Nigeria. Leonard Ogunweide believes this is because these ideas have simply not been taught, and even those individuals who are familiar with free-market principles have only heard them through the filter of leftist thinkers. Through The Free Market Project Tour, Ogunweide plans to help rectify this situation by embarking on an educational campaign to show Nigerians how more economic freedom leads to greater prosperity for all.
Evans Exaud (Liberty Sparks, Tanzania)
Merchants seeking to bring their goods across the Tanzanian border frequently face harassment, abuse, and even property destruction and theft at the hands of border agents, all because they failed to acquire expensive tax documentation or meet other burdensome regulations. Evans Exaud sees trade barriers like these as one of the most important factors keeping millions of Tanzanians in poverty, and he is dedicated to reforming trade regulations to enable greater prosperity. His Ujirani Mwema project will build on Liberty Sparks’ previous efforts and bring together key parliamentarians to show them the power of reduced trade barriers to improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.
Keep an eye on our social media channels, or join us online at Africa Liberty Forum 2022 to be among the first to know who will take home the US$5,000 prize!