Jack Ma Launches $1.5m ‘Africa’s Business Heroes’

• Jack Ma Launches $1.5m ‘Africa’s Business Heroes’

The Jack Ma Foundation on Tuesday announced the launching of the second edition of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition for 2020.

Application is now open to all African entrepreneurs, according to the foundation. Applications will be available in both French and English.

Every year, ten finalists will be selected to compete in a finale pitch competition show that will be broadcast online and across the continent.

At this year’s grand finale, all ten finalists will share a prize pool of US$1.5 million, up from $1 million last year, as well as gain access to the ANPI community of business leaders to leverage the community’s shared expertise, best practice, training and resources.

Last year, the prize received nearly 10,000 applications from 50 African countries. The 2019 top ten finalists pitched their business ideas to a prominent judging panel during a televised grand-finale show in Accra, Ghana.

The finalists represented a variety of industries – including cloud kitchens, tech agribusiness, healthcare and pharma, e-commerce, consumer goods, and water supply solutions.

“It was an incredible honor to be named Africa’s Business Hero last year. The Prize enabled me to expand to multiple states in Nigeria and become a truly pan-Nigerian business, and I was truly inspired by my experience and by all my fellow winners. I am looking forward to serving as an Ambassador for this year’s prize and to seeing the next group of entrepreneurs come forward to showcase the best of Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit and strength,” said the Founder and CEO, LifeBank, Temie Giwa-Tubosun.

“We find ourselves in unprecedented and extraordinary times. Now, more than ever, we need entrepreneurs with courage, initiative, and vision to do what they do best – solve problems for society. With this prize competition, we are looking to inspire and reward African business heroes in all sectors and encourage any aspiring applicants to seize this opportunity to break through barriers and create hope for the future,” said Jason Pau, Senior Advisor for International Programs, Jack Ma Foundation.

Application deadline:

Applications will be open online from April 6th to June 9th 2020 with semi-finalists announced in August, and the top ten finalists for 2020 unveiled in September.

To apply and for more information about ANPI, visit HERE and follow @africa_heroes on Twitter.