The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, is slated to announce the top three winners for its fifth edition at the 2023 ABH Grand Finale Award Ceremony to be held on Friday, November 24. The ceremony will be part of a two-day event which celebrates ABH’s 5th anniversary – a mid-way mark in the prize competition program.
The top 10 finalists, selected from an initial pool of over 27,267 applicants from across Africa over a seven-month period, will finally be competing LIVE at the Grand Finale for the title of 2023 ABH Winner! All 10 finalists will win a share of the competition’s US$1.5 million grant. The event will take place in Rwanda at Kigali Convention Centre, and the Award Ceremony will be broadcasted live to people across Africa and globally.
The 10 finalists represent eight African countries including Benin, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa. These new-generation entrepreneurs are the masterminds behind start-ups drawn from a wide variety of industries, including agriculture, education & training, energy, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and retail.
The top 10 finalists are (in alphabetical order, by country):
- Ms. Bola Bardet, CEO and Co-Founder, Susu (Benin)
- Mr. Ayman Bazaraa, CEO and Co-Founder, Sprints (Egypt)
- Mr. Andrew Takyi-appiah, Founder, Zeepay Ghana Limited (Ghana)
- Ms. Christina Gyisun, CEO and Co-Founder, Sommalife Limited (Ghana)
- Mr. Thomas Njeru, CEO and Co-Founder, Pula Advisors Limited (Kenya)
- Mr. Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and Founder, Chari (Morocco)
- Mr. Ikpeme Neto, CEO and Founder, Wellahealth Technologies (Nigeria)
- Mr. Albert Munyabugingo, CEO and Co-Founder, Vuba Vuba Africa LTD (Rwanda)
- Ms. Nthabiseng Mosia, CMO and Co-Founder, Easy Solar (South Africa)
- Mr. Theo Baloyi, CEO and Founder, Bathu (South Africa)
Every year, ABH spotlights outstanding participants through traditional media and social media channels, including providing significant exposure to the top 10 finalists via the ABH Show, which features the ABH journey of the previous edition’s top 10 finalists and their entrepreneurial stories.
This year, all the top 50 finalists will be invited to join the Alibaba Netpreneur Masterclass Global Edition 2023 to be conducted online by Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) from late July to late August, to acquire insights into how to harness digital technology to drive their business growth.
ABH is calling on current and aspiring entrepreneurs, well-wishers, investors and other key stakeholders in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to attend this year’s Grand Finale award Ceremony.
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