The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition 2022, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy which is now in its fourth edition, has announced this year’s top 10 finalists following an intense round of semi-finale business pitches and judging held on September 30 at the Kigali Convention Centre.
The top 10 finalists are:
Mr. Flavien Kouatcha Simo, Managing Partner of Save Our Agriculture Sarl (Cameroon)
Ms. Amena Elsaie, Co-Founder of Helm Consulting (Egypt)
Ms. Nadia Gamal El Din, Founder and CEO of Rahet Bally (Egypt)
Mr. Amadou Daffe, CEO and Co-Founder of Gebeya Inc. (Ethiopia)
Mr. Prince Agbata, Co-Founder and CEO of Coliba Waste Management Services Limited (Ghana)
Mr. Tesh Mbaabu, Co-Founder and CEO of Marketforce Technologies (Kenya)
Ms. Francine Munyaneza, Founder of Munyax Eco (Rwanda)
Ms. Shona Mcdonald, Founder and Executive Director of Shonaquip Social Enterprise (South Africa)
Ms. Elmarie Pereira, Chief Operations Executive, Co-Founder & Acting CEO of Memeza Shout (PTY) Ltd (South Africa)
Mr. Elia Timotheo, Founder and CEO of East Africa Fruits Co. (Tanzania)
The result was announced at a Gala Dinner on October 1 to an audience of around 100 attendees from all over the African continent, consisting of current and past ABH participants, judges, investors and other key stakeholders in Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape.
These top 10 finalists will take the stage at the competition’s grand finale in November 2022 for their final pitch to win a share of a US$1.5 million prize pool. The winner of the first prize will walk home with a US$300,000 grant to fuel their further business growth.
The 10 entrepreneurs were selected through multiple stages of interviews and evaluation from over 21,000 applications across all 54 African nations.
They hail from eight African countries including Cameron, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania. Their start-ups have been drawn from a wide variety of industries including agriculture, consulting, energy, environmental protection, healthcare, information & communication technology (ICT), and retail.
These outstanding entrepreneurs share a common trait of having a deep commitment to creating a positive impact on their communities, such as empowering disadvantaged groups, increasing access to digital commerce for businesses in Africa and leveraging technology to improve agricultural efficiency for small-holder farmers.
“ABH remains steadfast in its efforts to identify, support and shine a spotlight on African entrepreneurs that are driving positive growth for their communities. Now in the fourth year of the ABH competition, we are impressed with the increasing diversity of our participants and the impact they are making especially in supporting post-pandemic economic recovery.
These top 10 finalists are sources of inspiration for other entrepreneurs in Africa,” says Jason Pau, Executive Director of International Programs, Jack Ma Foundation.
