Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, the flagship philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation to spotlight and support African entrepreneurs, has announced the top 20 finalists for its 2022 edition.

Now in its fourth edition, ABH is a Pan-African competition that recognizes and celebrates entrepreneurial talent across the continent. It offers entrants a chance to win a share of a US$1.5 million grant to fund their businesses as well as invaluable access to training, mentorship, networking opportunities and other benefits. The goal is to contribute to the growth of promising African start-ups, entrepreneurs and budding small businesses.

The 20 finalists have been selected from a pool of 21,000 applicants from a wide variety of industries including agriculture, education & training, healthcare, energy, information & communication technology (ICT), retail, consulting, manufacturing, financial services and environmental protection.

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They are evenly distributed geographically among West (30%), East (25%), South (25%) as well as North and Central (20%) Africa. The selected businesses mainly operate in 11 African countries including Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa and Tanzania. Female entrants account for half of the top 20 finalists.

“The top 20 finalists of the ABH prize competition this year show what great potential and talent exist in Africa. We are looking forward to giving them the support they need to grow and generate a positive impact on both their businesses and the communities they serve. We wish all of them the very best of luck for this October”.
Zahra Baitie-Boateng, Head of Partnerships & Programs, Africa’s Business Heroes

Over the coming month, the top heroes will undergo a rigorous due diligence process which combine with their round two scores and determine the top 15 heroes. The top 15 finalists will proceed to the semi-final round of the competition, which will be held in Kigali, Rwanda on September 30, 2022, the first in-person semi-final since 2019.

This year’s official competition slogan, “It’s African Time”, is a bold call to action to all talented African entrepreneurs who are challenging stereotypes associated with “African time” – creating local impact and building a better, more inclusive future through their businesses.