Africa was the winner in Manhattan recently, when almost 600 people gathered for a glittering event in Chelsea Piers to support entrepreneurship across the continent.
The event – held to support Self Help Africa – attracted a host of celebrities, including noted restaurateur and author Marcus Samuelsson (pictured), who was the inaugural recipient of the Spirit of Africa award at the event.
“I’m very honored to accept this award,” said Samuelsson, “and I really admire the work that Self Help Africa is doing with poor communities in Ethiopia and across Africa.”
The evening raised over $400,000 to support Self Help Africa’s programs across Africa, with a particular focus on the organization’s micro-finance initiative.
“Tonight is about celebrating change,” said Self Help Africa Director of Business Development, Martha Hourican. “Everyone here is supporting the next 12 months of work that Self Help Africa is undertaking, bringing real and permanent change to hundreds of thousands of lives across Africa. It’s a great night, and everyone here is having a lot of fun, but the real winner from all of it is Africa.”
Joining Marcus Samuelsson’s table for the event were Miss USA 2012 Nana Meriweather, actresses Monique Coleman and Jamie Gray Hyder from True Blood and blogger Diem Brown, while filmmaker and activist Daniel Maree was also one of the night’s key supporters.
Adding to the party was the presence of award-winning chef Nils Noren, whose signature ChangeMakers Cocktail – created specially for the event – raised $20,000!
For those who didn’t want to dance the night away after dinner, there was whiskey tasting and a silent auction.”This event was a huge success,” said Martha Hourican. “It’s truly inspiring to see how strong the link between Manhattan and rural African entrepreneurship has become. People across this city – from business, from banking, from law, from a wide range of industries – support the event because they believe in investing in small businesses in poor communities.”
For more information, please contact Self Help Africa [email protected] 212 206 0847