The 2021 Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize, a flagship philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation, announced this year’s top 10 finalists, with Ghanaian entrepreneur, Violet Amoabeng, making it to the top 10 finalists of Africa’s Business Heroes.
It is worth mentioning that Violet Amoabeng is the only Ghanaian to have made it to the top 10. Violet and the other nine entrepreneurs will take the stage at the grand finale in November for their final pitch to win a share of a 1.5 million dollars prize pool.
The ten entrepreneurs, half of whom are female, were selected from over 12,000 applications across all 54 African nations and passed multiple stages of judging and evaluation. With an average age of 32 years, the top ten represent businesses primarily operating in 7 African countries: Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Their businesses span key industries such as agriculture, beauty, education, energy, food & beverage, logistics, manufacturing, media & entertainment, and retail. 80% of the finalists operate their businesses in rural areas. Through their ventures, these outstanding entrepreneurs are generating positive impact and creating opportunities for their communities.
Jason Pau, Executive Director of International, Jack Ma Foundation said:
“It’s African time! We have been continuously impressed with all of our 2021 Top 10 finalists, especially their diversity and strength of their businesses. The Top 10 are truly inspiring and are a testament to the talent, resilience, innovation, and passion of African entrepreneurs. In the midst of unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we remain steadfast in our efforts to identify, support, and shine a spotlight on African entrepreneurs that are driving positive growth for their communities”.
Rene Parker, Director at R Labs and a semi-finale judge of ABH, commenting on the turn of events said:
“This is my 3rd year as a semi-final judge and therefore, I have seen a total of 60 entrepreneurs pitch. In my opinion, they are all already heroes just by reaching this stage. Every year, the competition gets tougher for the entrepreneurs but it also makes it harder for us judges to choose our top 10. I wish the Top 10 of 2021 well on the next phase of the competition and congratulations to our Heroes”.
- National Film Authority set to launch Presidential film pitching
- National Film Authority’s ‘Presidential Film Pitch Series’ finalizes investment for IGrow
Fred Swaniker, Founder of ALU and a semi-finale judge of ABH, adding his voice also said:
“It was an absolute pleasure to judge the ABH semi-finals again this year. The quality of the semi-finalists continues to be high. It was extremely difficult to shortlist the final 10 because each entrepreneur was so inspiring. They demonstrated the resilience, passion, imagination, and traction that we need in our entrepreneurs here in Africa. I can’t wait to follow their success!”
In November, Africa’s Business Heroes will host its Grand Finale in a virtual format, and the top winners of the 2021 ABH prize will be announced in due course. The next few weeks will see the finalists finesse their pitches and leverage the in-depth training, learnings, and insights that they have gathered during their ABH journey.
Violet Amoabeng is the Founder and CEO of Skin Gourmet. She attained both Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Business Administration, specializing in marketing, supply chain management, and accounting. In 2014, Violet created Skin Gourmet with 145 Ghana cedis. Skin Gourmet is now distributed in over 17 different countries and Violet has been featured in Glitz and EMY Magazine as an emerging industry leader.
Read also: Governance Expert Urges Special Prosecutor to Prove His no “Political Interference” Promise
