Africa’s Business Heroes is an initiative of the Jack Ma Foundation and its aim is to identify and empower talented local business owners who are driving positive change in their communities. Jack Ma’s journey is inspirational, from his humble beginning as an English teacher to his establishment of Alibaba, an e-commerce giant in China. Alibaba’s success empowered countless small and medium businesses and provided them with access to global markets. Jack Ma leverages his entrepreneurial acumen to fuel his philanthropic initiatives and continues to shape not only China’s business landscape but also the global narrative of social responsibility.
Objectives of Africa’s Business Heroes
The objective of Africa’s Business Heroes initiative is to inspire, train, and support entrepreneurs in Africa to build businesses that can create development and economic opportunities on the continent. The programme will select Top 50, Top 20 and Top 10 finalists that will receive, amongst other benefits:
- Publicity and the platform to tell their stories through Africa’s Business Heroes website and social media channels. Finalists will enjoy exposure across Africa and the worlds through a series of press releases from the Foundation;
- Access to a network that provides valuable entrepreneurship resources such as mentorship and training resources;
- Opportunity to engage with highly-qualified judges who will offer entrepreneurship advice to applicants; and
- Development of skills to present their stories in a way that is compelling to investors.
Africa’s Business Heroes Top 10 Prizes
In addition, Top 10 finalist will share the following in grant funding:
| 1st | $ 300,000.00 |
| 2nd | $ 250,000,00 |
| 3rd | $ 150,000.00 |
| 4th to 10th | $ 100,000.00 |
| Training opportunities | $ 100,000.00 |
Eligibility to apply for Africa’s Business Heroes
To be eligible, applications must fulfil the following:
- The applicant must be a founder or co-founder of the company;
- The founder or co-founder must be an African citizen and/or has a parent or grandparent that has African citizenship;
- The business must be registered in an African country and primarily be operating in Africa;
- The company must be in a post-idea stage; and
- The Business must be able to provide proof that it has been in operation and have revenues for at least 3 years.
Applicants will also be required to:
- Submit a video introduction of themselves and must include a customer testimonial video that is a maximum of 1 minute 30 seconds; and
- A reference from a 3rd party (for example, a mentor, colleague, or supplier) who can provide details on your character, leadership, and achievements.
Judging criteria for Africa’s Business Heroes
The selection process is extensive and the judges will also be looking at:
- The applicant’s sense of purpose, vision, and leadership qualities.
- The extent to which the business solves pain points for customers and addresses unfulfilled needs.
- The uniqueness of the solution and whether it has a competitive advantage.
- Traction in terms of customers and growth
- Market Traction: Our judges look out for whether there is demand for the business’s product/service. We place emphasis on solutions that have customers and where there is demonstrated demand for the solution.
- Revenue models that show sustainability, scalability, and that have generated income.
- The strength of the team, including their key roles, strengths, weaknesses and their management approach.
- The strength of references that speak to leadership potential and achievement. The video testimonial will also be used to judge this aspect.
Closing Date
The closing date for submission to Africa’s Business Heroes is 09 June 2024. Click here to create a profile and to proceed with the application.
Previous winners of Africa’s Business Heroes
Below are the winners of Africa’s Business Heroes in the last three years, from 2023 down to 2021:
- Ikpeme Neto from Nigeria, founder of WellaHealth building a healthtech that provides access to affordable, high-quality healthcare protection for Africans;
- Eias Timotheo of East Africa Fruits in Kenya, building the bridge between local farmers the market through Agritech;
- Khadija El-Bedweihy of Egypt, building Praxilabs, an Edtech that provides students with access to virtual laboratory experiments, making education more affordable and accessible.
Further Information
One of our objectives is to empower small businesses and startups by curating funding opportunities that we come across. Refer to our main page and follow the funding link for other opportunities.
While formal company registration is not always a prerequisite for accessing funding, it is crucial for formalised entities to maintain compliance. Lack of proper governance will completely hinder any prospects of funding. For guides and articles on governance, visit to our main page and follow the governance link from there.
