The award was organised by the African Institute for
Leadership Excellence in collaboration with the African Brands Media Ltd and
supported by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). According to
the organisers of the award ceremony, the prize is meant to celebrate leaders
who have positively impacted the economy of the continent through their work.
“The African Prize for Leadership Excellence is a prize for
excellent leadership experience for some selected African personalities who
have made impact in the development of the African economy through their
innovation, creativity and leadership experience in their field of endeavour.”
They went on to say that the Fintech Personality Leadership
Prize given to Mr Opaleye was in recognition of his “expertise, sound knowledge
and practical leadership excellence.”
Receiving the prize, Opaleye expressed his excitement on
being chosen for the esteemed prize and thanked the organisers for the honour
they have done to him.
“I wish I could fully express how excited I am at this prize
that is presented to me today by such an august body. I am profoundly happy
that the work we do at Alerzo Nigeria is greatly impacting the economy of the
continent in such a way as to merit this huge honour being bestowed on me.
The only way I can reward you is to pledge to continue to do
all I can in assisting my fellow compatriots in addressing their business
challenges using technology.”
He told a brief history of his work at Alerzo Nigeria – how
he was raised by a mother who was a shop owner. He said he saw first-hand the
challenges his mother, like other shop owners, faced in the running of her
business – issues of inventory management, access to capital, logistics and so
on – which seemed endless.
Then he went to study in China and saw how the country used
technology in solving similar problems, and thought that Nigerians can equally
tackle their business challenges using the same technology.
“I founded Alerzo Nigeria to address most of the challenges
that face informal retailers in Nigeria. I am happy that, in two years of
operations, Alerzo has deployed technology in addressing the challenges of the
informal retailers who are on our platform. With our delivery services,
retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise
expended in restocking.”
The award event brought together prominent business leaders,
entrepreneurs and high-ranking government officials from across the continent
including former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the
Presidents of South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Togo among others.