ABH is a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy. Every year since 2019, ABH has conducted a continent-wide search with its partners for the most talented and mission-driven entrepreneurs that are driving growth and positive impact in their communities. It features 50 African entrepreneur finalists each year as they pitch their business to compete for the final prize and gain unparalleled mentoring, networking, training, and exposure. Over a 10-years, ABH will recognize 100 outstanding African entrepreneurs.
The 2023 ABH Summit and Grand Finale, which marks the 5th anniversary of the ABH prize competition program, will bring together a diverse array of African entrepreneurial ecosystem players and aspiring entrepreneurs, offering a platform for networking, learning and awarding of the 2023 ABH winners. It will be a dynamic and engaging event featuring industry thought leaders, global business legends, renowned stage performers and influencers from across the African continent. Already, the event is attracting a lot of interest, with its audience currently numbering thousands of registered individuals hailing from around 100 countries, including media and influencers from over 30 African countries.
The theme for this year’s summit will be: “AI: African Insight, Innovation, Impact.” As a highlight of the two-day event, the top 10 finalists of this year’s ABH Prize Competition will take the stage at the ABH Grand Finale on November 24 to pitch their innovative business ideas face-to-face to global business legends, vying for their share of US$1.5 million in grant money. This year’s ABH top 10 entrepreneurs were selected from an impressive pool of 27,267 applications from all 54 African nations. All the action of the ABH Grand Finale will take place on the biggest augmented reality-enhanced stage that Africa has ever seen.
The distinguished ABH Grand Finale judges this year include:
- Dr. Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali
- Ibukun Awosika, Founder of The Chair Centre Group
- Joe Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group
The summit, to be held on November 23-24, will boast a speaker lineup of over 50 successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople from various cultures and backgrounds. Among other prominent personalities, the speakers include Georgie Ndirangu, Head of Pan-African Program Communications at Mastercard Foundation; Natalie Jabangwe, Group Digital Executive Officer of Sanlam; Ade Bajomo, President of FinTechNGR; as well as many of ABH’s past heroes. Attendees will have the chance to learn and be inspired by these industry leaders and visionaries through a series of keynotes, workshops and thought-provoking discussions.
Throughout the event, attendees can participate in a selection of interactive sessions designed to foster knowledge-sharing and collaboration among like-minded individuals.
“The Africa’s Business Heroes Summit and Grand Finale in Kigali promises to be an amazing showcase of AI: African insight, innovation and impact. For the last five years, ABH has been a steward of Africa’s entrepreneurial excellence, and this year’s finale will be the stage for the pan-African entrepreneur ecosystem to shine. We extend a warm invitation to join us in supporting this year’s Africa’s Business Heroes as they lead the way toward a brighter future for the continent,” says Jason Pau, Executive Director of International Programs at the Jack Ma Foundation.
In addition to the Grand Finale and Summit, this year, ABH is introducing “ABH 100” to honor individuals who have supported ABH’s cause in their respective capacities over the five editions so far. ABH knows that the tireless efforts the ABH 100 – including but not limited to those who have volunteered over 15,000 hours in the judging processes – put in to support entrepreneurship in Africa have had an amazing impact on both the competition and the exciting and steadily growing start-up ecosystem that it has cultivated.
ABH invites current and aspiring entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to participate in this year’s ABH Summit and Grand Finale. Interested individuals can register now (https://apo-opa.co/3QT9MEN) to secure a seat to attend the event live in Kigali, Rwanda. Attendance is by registration, and admission to the physical event is free on a first-come, first-served basis due to limited capacity. People outside of Rwanda can also register here (https://apo-opa.co/3QT9MEN) to watch the Grand Finale live online in English.
Africa’s Business Heroes invites the continent to celebrate entrepreneurship, innovation and the future of African business together. Register now and be a part of this momentous event.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH).
Press contact:
Africa’s Business Heroes
Press Room: abh.press@list.alibaba-inc.com
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:
English: Tracy Walakira tracy.walakira@apo-opa.com
French/Arabic: Malika Bouayad malika.bouayad@apo-opa.com
About Africa’s Business Heroes:
The Africa’s Business Heroes Prize Competition is a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy. It aims to support, inspire and enable the next generation of African entrepreneurs across all sectors who are building a brighter future for the continent, by offering grant funding, training programs and support for the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over a 10-year period, each year the ABH Prize Competition and show features 10 entrepreneur finalists as they pitch their business to win a share of US$1.5 million in grant money.
