Meet Africa’s latest business heroes
ABH is a flagship philanthropic
programme established by the Jack Ma Foundation to help foster an inclusive and
vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa.
The annual competition, now in
its third year, shines a spotlight on talented African entrepreneurs who are
working to make a difference in their communities and helping to build a more
sustainable, inclusive future.
ABH is grassroots-oriented as
well as age, gender, language and sector agnostic.
This year, over 12,000
applications were received from all 54 countries in Africa. The finalists were
chosen after several rounds of rigorous evaluation conducted by over 230
judges. They were selected after demonstrating that they are visionary
entrepreneurs who embodied innovation, resilience, growth potential and impact
on Africa.
Hundreds of viewers from 49 countries
worldwide registered to watch the live online grand finale and visit the
virtual exhibition, following the finalists as they pitched their businesses to
a final panel of esteemed judges: Ibukun Awosika, Founder-CEO, The Chair Centre
Group; Victor Williams, NBA Africa CEO; and Joe Tsai, Executive Vice-Chairman, Alibaba
Group.
At the end of the pitching,
Khadija Mohamed Elbedweihy of Egypt, Founder, PraxiLabs (www.praxilabs.com) won
the top prize of $300,000. She was followed by Ikenna Nzewi of Nigeria, Co-Founder-CEO,
Releaf (www.releaf.africa), who won $250,000. And in third place with $150,000 was
Navalayo Osembo-Ombati of Kenya, Co-Founder-CEO, Enda Athletic (www.EndaSportswear.com).
“I’m very humbled to be named
Africa’s Business Hero. This competition has been an incredible journey. I’ve
learnt important lessons from each judge and from my fellow talented
entrepreneurs. I hope this win inspires many young Africans to believe we’ve
what it takes to make an impact where we are. It’s been a challenging year for
many businesses, but challenges are key to build our resilience. PraxiLabs is
solving pressing issues around education and training and we will remain
focused and determined to change how Africa learns and teaches science, one
virtual lab at a time,” the winner, Elbedweihy, reacted.
The other finalists in the top
ten will each receive $100,000 in prize funding and an additional $10,000 will
be allocated to each finalist for a training program to be hosted in Alibaba
Group’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China.
Ghirmay Abraham, Founder, Aptech
Africa (aptechafrica.com), Uganda; Oghenetega Iortim, Founder, Gricd (Gricd.com),
Nigeria; Yvette Ishimwe, Founder-CEO, IRIBA Water Group (www.IRIBWaterGroup.com),
Rwanda; Charlot Magayi, Founder-CEO, Mukuru Clean Stoves (mukurustoves.org),
Kenya; Chidi Nwaogu, Co-Founder-CEO, Publiseer (Publiseer.net), Nigeria; Violet
Amoabeng, Founder-CEO, Skin Gourmet (SkinGourmet.com), Ghana; and Ketshephaone
Jacob, Founder-CEO, The Bulb World (https://bit.ly/3Fu2nU4), Botswana are the
other finalists.
The finale judges were impressed
with all the finalists and their businesses.
“This is the third time I’ve been
a grand finale judge for Africa’s Business Heroes, meeting many exceptional
businesswomen and men from across Africa. Each year, I’m struck by their sheer
talent and the commitment to developing creative, innovative solutions to the
challenges we face on the continent. It truly is Africa’s time and these
outstanding entrepreneurs are the ones who embody its future of growth and
relevant solution-based innovation,” Awosika said.
“I want to congratulate the
winners of this year’s Africa’s Business Heroes. Entrepreneurship, like sport, is a
transformative force for positive social change and economic growth. All of the Africa’s Business Heroes are inspiring
leaders who are actively pursuing their passions and helping Africa take its
rightful place on the world stage. I look forward to engaging with all of them
as they continue their entrepreneurial journeys on the continent,” Williams
said.
“This year’s finalists came from
inspiring personal stories that are invaluable not only to their teams and
communities but to many would-be entrepreneurs across the continent who are
thinking about pursuing this path. The kind of talent and passion I saw among
this year’s Africa’s Business Heroes is unrivaled around the world. They are
innovators and problem-solvers, but most importantly, they have a driving sense
of mission and social impact. Congratulations to all of our winners and we look
forward to seeing what you accomplish next,” Tsai said.
The Africa’s Business Heroes TV
show will air in 2022.
It will follow the finalists in
their exciting journey to the grand finale and features their on-stage pitches
as well as behind the scenes moments.
The award ceremony from the 2021
finale will soon be available to watch on the ABH official YouTube
(https://bit.ly/3oF8j5R).
Applications for ABH 2022 will
open in early 2022.
For news and updates, visit
africabusinessheroes.org, subscribe to the newsletter and follow @africa_heroes
(https://bit.ly/3DuECdZ) on Twitter.
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