A young social media influencer and content creator from Haiti, Ariana Milagro Lafond, has beaten competitors from several African countries to become champion of this year’s House of Challenge.
The 19-year-old student defeated content creators from Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Togo in the 8th edition of the ‘’House of Challenge.’’
The contest, initiated by Cameroonian musician and TikTok content creator Bovan, is a Pan-African reality entrepreneurial competition promoting innovation, leadership, and social engagement among young people from Africa and the diaspora.
Cash prize
It brings together around 12 influencers to showcase their talent and projects, pitching ideas with scalable solutions in education, agriculture, technology, and community development to investors, mentors, and international organisations.
Ariana, with 15 million TikTok followers and 79,000 on Instagram, won this year's event in Lome, Togo, defeating Cameroon's Mk Michelle in the final on 11 April.
Her project addresses Haiti's child nutrition and youth unemployment challenges, combining food security with vocational training for financial independence.
Ariana's project impressed judges and earned her the top prize, including an entrepreneurial trip to China, a 20 million CFA franc cash prize, which is the equivalent of $35,000, and 10 million CFA francs in funding for her startup project.
In her speech, the teenager called for peace in her country, which is grappling with gang violence.
African heritage
“I want to send a message, a message of peace. Abandon the violence, open the roads, let Haiti breathe Because behind every blocked road, a future is fading away,” Ariana says.
In a message of support, Haiti’s Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé praised what he described as “a performance that honours Haiti and showcases the talent of its youth,” particularly given this is the country’s first participation in the contest.
Haiti, a Caribbean nation of approximately 12 million people, has strong historical and cultural ties with Africa, with many Haitians being descendants of Africans taken to the Caribbean during the transatlantic slave trade.
Despite its economic and development challenges, it is rich in culture, natural beauty and resilience, offering strong tourism attractions.
