Coscharis Founder Wins EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Also Watch the video)

The founder and Chairman of Coscharis group, Dr. Cosmas Maduka has emerged the winner of Masters Category of 2020 edition of Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year for the West Africa region.

As the 2020 recipient of the award, which was formally presented on Thursday, Maduka will be representing West Africa at the global stage.

This event was originally slated to take place in Monte Carlo, but because of the distractions Covid – 19 has brought into the entire world, it was conducted virtually with Zoom content capture / connection tool for voting and viewing of the broadcast.

Responding, Maduka dedicated the award to other contestants as well as all women, who he described as the those who make difference in human lives.

Maduka, who went emotional, recalled the memory of his late mother, who he said inspired him to be successful in life, despite not having a formal education.

He said: “I wish my mother were alive to witness this day, a woman that inspired me after the death of my father at the age of four and look me straight in the eye and told me I would go places in life.”

The coscharis founder, therefore, implored women around the world to guide and inspire their children, when they are still young.

“Women,” he said, “I entreat you to encourage your children, when they are young, because that is when they believe you. My mother helped me to grow up with optimism, believing in myself and believing that no door closes before me.

“Without a formal education, by the Grace of God, we built an institution that is today called Coscharis Group.”

Maduka also attributed his success in life to what he learnt from people he met in life.

“There are people here that have touched my life a a particular way,” he pointed out, “Somebody like Ayo Oni, who used to be the chairman of Access bank, I served under him. He was in the board of the bank for 12 years. These are school I went in life and met people. I believe that everywhere you being to in life is a school. It’s just whether you are willing to learn or not.”

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards previously Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is an award sponsored by Ernst & Young in recognition of entrepreneurship. Founded in 1986, in Milwaukee, as a single award, as of 2016, twenty-five programs were run in all 50 states of the United States, and more than 60 countries.

The award may be given to multiple individuals per year; for example, in 2013 there were ten winners in the state of New York, with winners in the categories of retail and consumer products; technology; family business; emerging; energy, chemical and mining; food products and services; real estate, hospitality, and construction; financial services; digital media; and transformational. In 2014, there were eleven national winners in the US; with one individual recognized as the overall award winner.

 Since 1986, over 10,000 people have received awards. averaging 400 recipients annually.

Every year since 1986, the overall country winners have gathered in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for EY World Entrepreneur of the Year. Nominees are reviewed by an independent judging panel of business leaders and previous award recipients. All country winners are inducted into the World Entrepreneur of the Year Academy and the Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame, on permanent display at Ernst & Young’s US headquarters.

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