A Ugandan photographer’s depiction of his one-year-old son using a mobile phone during a blackout won him the first pan-Africa photo competition focussing on modern Africa.
Mohsen Taha, 28, was the grand prize winner of the Africa 2015 Photo Competition and walked away with another prize in the technology category for his photo which showed how many people could now afford a mobile phone, whether they lived in rural or urban areas, competition organisers Agility, an integrated logistics company, said on Monday.
“I’m proud to be a part of a competition that helps to promote the economic development happening right now in Africa,” an excited Taha said.
“This competition has allowed photographers to show the various aspects of Africa and how we have grown and developed into something different, and better. Six years ago, I couldn’t afford a mobile phone. Today in Uganda, everyone from rural to urban areas can afford one. These advancements are significant.”
Both amateur and professional photographers submitted images for the competition.
Photographers from 33 countries submitted over 700 photographs in the categories of industry, technology, and cities.
The photos depicted “images that show the growth and development of Africa taking shape amid record investment, rising incomes and improving living standards”.
The independent judging panel consisted of Sneha Shah, Thomson Reuters Africa Managing Director, Bronwyn Nielsen, CNBC Africa Editor-in-Chief, and renowned Ghanaian artist, Professor Ablade Glover.
“Agility launched this competition to help showcase some of the very positive advancements in infrastructure and technology happening across Africa,” said Geoffrey White, Agility Africa CEO.
“As a company investing heavily in Africa’s future, we’re delighted to see how well these photographs have captured the region’s fast-paced evolution and modern spirit.”
The significance of the competition, said Shah, is not only seen in how technology and innovation is changing lives on the continent, but in how “the real story of Africa, the youngest continent, is just starting to be told, and those who are here now are helping to shape and share in the growth”.
Each category winner received a cash prize of US$2000 and the grand prize winner received an additional US$2000 cash prize as the overall winner.
A breathtaking photograph of urban developments in Luanda saw 30-year-old Angolan photographer Carlos Aguiar walk away the winner of the Cities category.
Young Kenyan photographer, Ahmed A Osman, 22, was announced the winner in the Industry category with his portrayal of how wheat fields in Narok show the rapid growth of the agricultural sector in Kenya, improving farmers’ lives.
Each winner’s photographs would be broadcast on CNBC Africa, and published in the Forbes Africa and Forbes Africa Woman magazines.
–African News Agency