Photo Competition Winners Show an Africa That Will Surprise Many

The impression many people in South Africa, and around the world, have of other parts of Africa are about to be blown away by the magnificent photos that have won the Africa 2016 Photo Competition, held by global logistics provider Agility.

The series of photographs show how quickly Africa is modernising, growing… and even leading the way in new technology.

The annual contest, now in its second year, is a pan-Africa photography competition focusing on Africa’s rapid modernisation.

This year’s competition drew more than 2,500 photographs from professional and amateur photographers in 30 countries.

The winning images depicted a fisherman in a canoe on Lake Victoria on his laptop (see above), a solar farm in Rwanda powering 15,000 homes, and the skyline of Harare, Zimbabwe (both below).

A cash prize of $2,000 was awarded for each competition category.

The winners were Stephen Simiyu, a photographer from Nairobi, Kenya (Technology); Henry Oliver Hakulandaba, an environmental consultant and photographer from Harare (Cities); and Esdore Hakizimana, a machine operator from Kigali, Rwanda (Industry).

Simiyu also won the Grand Prize of $2,000 for his photograph of a fisherman using a laptop in a canoe on Lake Victoria, Uganda.

The winning photographs and the runners-ups were featured at a session at the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this month and will be shown at the Thomson Reuters Africa Summit 2016 in Cape Town in October.

They will also be showcased in Forbes Africa, on CNBC Africa, and in Agility’s corporate magazine, Tradelanes.

Simiyu, the Grand Prize winner, said: “I know Africa is developing, and to show this, I needed an image that could tell that story in one picture. The competition really made me think about Africa – there’s nowhere like it.”

Hakulandaba, winner in the Cities category, said non-Africans are continually surprised by the pace of change in Africa.

“Whenever I exhibit images of Harare or any other African city, there is always someone who says they never thought Africa has such development,” he said.

“This competition is a platform to reach a wider audience about African development. It will help change perspectives of the continent’s potential.”

Geoffrey White, CEO of Agility Africa, said: “The winning images speak eloquently about the historic change underway in Africa and the opportunities for Africans, African businesses and the world… We are proud to show the world powerful images that capture a more positive view of Africa and demonstrate the progress that has already been made, hopefully changing the perceptions of Africa in 2016.”

Some of the other entries included:

Nigeria:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJvYby9juwV/?taken-by=africaphotocomp

South Africa:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJvYwbFjeGr/?taken-by=africaphotocomp

Kenya:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKG43Raj8XW/?taken-by=africaphotocomp