The stars of African entrepreneurship seem to be shinning brighter by the day. Young talents are emerging to build brands that change the business landscape and the lives of people in an unimaginable way. It is surprising and encouraging when you think of the age of these inventive business personalities. Here is a list of successful African entrepreneurs who are causing ripples despite their age.

Adeniyi Makanjuola could easily be missed from the crowd because of a reserved demeanor. However, those who know him think that this image is deceptive. His advances in the oil and gas, energy, financial and aviation sectors are notable. He has begun to challenge multinationals that have dominated the aviation sector for years. The growth his brand is experiencing has also seen him expand to countries beyond Africa including Middle East and Europe.

From shining as a beauty queen and serenading the continent with her beautiful music, Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe is leading the way in artistic entrepreneurship. She is a self styled lady running the brand Molacaho. Her specialization is imprinting of the afro-centric theme on furniture. She is now selling her wares to the international market. The brand is buoyed by the use of locally available materials.

Ndijeka Akuyuli Crosby is another Nigerian who has caught the attention of Africa and the entire world. She dominates with her love for art and paintings. Her work captures the mind of the world because it eclectically combines photo transfers, drawing, print making and collage. One of her most famous works was Drone which was originally valued at 300,000 dollars but eventually sold at 1.1 million dollars in 2012.

The online market was difficult to sell in Africa until Fatoumata Ba took charge of Jumia Ivory Coast as a marketing manager. With the assistance of Africa Internet Group, she grew the brand by reaps and bounds. This saw her transferred to Nigeria with the same mandate where the success was monumental. At a young age of 29, she remains a trailblazer for shortening what was presumed to take decades before it was achieved.

What were you doing at 25 years? Rupert Bryan was already a millionaire, having co-founded ISP-Web Africa at just 14 years in South Africa. He is credited with having a vision and following it until a company that was built from scratch hit a turnover of R130 million each year. The company is growing bigger and bigger with incredible web solutions.

Ludwick Marishane is the chief executive at DryBath Investor. He has been termed as a prodigy for inventing the DryBath at the tender age of 17. The Global Champion of Global Students Entrepreneurs Award rated him as the top entrepreneur because of his brilliant ideas. When asked about his take on entrepreneurship, his response was that no one should need encouragement to make it as an entrepreneur.

Patrick Ngowi can best be described as a man after excellence, industrious and of incredible intellect. With only 50 dollars, he built the Helvetic Group to be a global brand by providing incredible and sustainable solutions. This company was founded at age 15 and has grown to be worth more than 8 million dollars. The Nigerian has expanded beyond Africa to China, Europe and USA.