The Jack Ma Foundation's “Africa Netpreneur Prize” initiative selects the 50 finalists of the “Africa's Business Heroes” competition for its 2020 edition

The top 50 Finalists of the Africa's Business Heroes competition, half of which are female and represent 21 countries across Africa and 18 sectors

The 50 finalists were selected from more than 22,000 entries from 54 African countries; The finalists represent 21 African countries, half of which are women, and work in 18 sectors of the economy such as agriculture, Artificial Intelligence (AI), e-commerce, fashion, health, renewable energies and ICTs; The finalists will participate in the next selection round and in a virtual and exclusive training camp, starting July 28. 

For its 2020 edition, the Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) competition (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org), a flagship philanthropic program set up by the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) of the Jack Ma Foundation, has named its 50 finalists after the first step of the selection process (https://bit.ly/2OVyzaw). 

The second stage has now been launched: these 50 entrepreneurs will have to compete again, to reach the rank of the ten best entrepreneurs, who will participate in the grand final scheduled for the end of the year. The 50 finalists were selected from more than 22,000 entries from 54 African countries. The diversity of the list of finalists reflects the goal of Africa's Business Heroes competition, which is to be inclusive and community-based. 

It offers African entrepreneurs a platform to showcase their talent and business ideas, regardless of nationality, field of activity, age or gender. Indeed, the fifty finalists for 2020 come from 21 countries, South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, DRC, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and 18 sectors, such as agriculture, AI, Big Data, business services, construction, education, engineering, e -commerce, fashion, financial services, healthcare, ICT, logistics, manufacturing, management services, retail, renewable energy and transportation. 

Jack Ma

The average age of the fifty finalists is 37, with the youngest candidate 22 and the oldest 64. 50% of the candidates are women; there is an increase of 24% compared to last year. Also, 32% of the finalists are French-speaking: the 2020 edition of the competition gives access, for the first time, to French-speaking applications. 

Last month, a jury of 140 highly qualified and experienced judges reviewed the nominations, assessing the nominees' leadership and vision, their ability to convert their innovations and ideas into sustainable and viable business models, and their commitment to create a positive impact to improve the lives of their communities. 

The judges, with sharp industrial expertise, represented a variety of key sectors in Africa, such as agriculture, technology, retail, e-commerce, education, health, finance, logistics and tourism. Before entering the second stage, which will only retain 20 finalists, the fifty selected entrepreneurs will be invited to participate in an exclusive virtual training camp, organized by the Africa's Business Heroes team, starting July 28. 

This session will provide candidates with access to very high level knowledge and information from across the ABH network. It will also aim to strengthen the management and leadership capacities of the finalists, to optimize their chances of progressing to the final stage of the competition and to further develop their entrepreneurial skills. During this training camp, the members of the jury of the first round will be able to advise and reorient these candidate-entrepreneurs. 

The jury will notably be composed of Rafeh Saleh, Director of the Founder Institute, and Omolara Awoyemi, Senior Program Manager at Facebook. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend interactive workshops with industry leaders, ABH partners this year, such as, Abdelhameed Sharara, Founder and CEO of RiseUp; Patrick Awuah, Founder and President of Ashesi University, and Sebastien Nony, General Partner of Janngo Capital. Some 2019 finalists will also be invited to provide valuable advice and discuss their backgrounds. 

The selection process for finalists for the Africa's Business Heroes competition will continue throughout the summer. 

Following the interviews of the second round and the presentation of the semi-final, the 20, then the first 10 finalists, will be announced respectively in August and September 2020. ABH will close this competition with a grand final at the end of the year , during which the top 10 finalists will present their projects to an audience of world-renowned leaders - including Mr Jack Ma - to win their share of the US $ 1.5 million Prize. Some first-round judges commented on their experience with Africa's Business Heroes, noting: “I am delighted to have taken part in the jury for the Africa's Business Heroes competition. 

It has been an honor to help identify the African Entrepreneurship Champions, who are committed to making a difference in their respective industries. In these difficult times, discovering how ABH candidates manage to turn challenges into opportunities, with a real sense of purpose and unmatched dedication to improving conditions in their communities, strengthens my confidence in the promise of the entrepreneurship in Africa " said Isadora Bigourdan Bryden, team leader at the French Development Agency. 

"Driven by the entrepreneurial spirit, the tangible benefits of social good and a strong sense of community pride, this start-up competition is exceptional: it is a showcase for many promising ideas, supported by a diverse group of start-ups. It was inspiring to see these founders, deeply committed and passionate about creating change in their world, " commented Triane Chang, Advisor for Silicon Valley Start-ups. 

"Seeing so many young entrepreneurs working with passion to lead high impact social projects across the African continent was very inspiring. The evaluation process was not straightforward as all participants submitted very high level with compelling business propositions. 

Throughout the competition, I was delighted to be able to follow the journey of the finalists and understand how they intend to use their talent and skills for the benefit of positive change within their communities and across the board. beyond" added Firas Ezzeddine, head of group strategy at Philips.

The latest news from this competition is available at https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org and on Twitter, @africa_heroes. 

A documentary on the inspiring adventures of the ABH 2019 finalists is also available on YouTube [https://bit.ly/39xUXA4]

Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor