Two Ugandans among top 10 finalists for sh5.5b Prize

Two Ugandan entrepreneurs have been named among the top 10 finalists for Africa's Business Heroes Competition (ABH) where they stand a chance to win their share of a $1.5m (sh5.5b) prize pool.

The two are, Joan Rukundo Nalubega of Uganic Repellants Ltd and Emma Naluyima of MST Junior School.

The 2020 Africa's Business Heroes prize, a flagship philanthropic program created by the Jack Ma Foundation's Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI), announced the top 10 finalists on Tuesday.

These will pitch at the competition's grand finale in November, for a chance to win a share of a $1.5 million prize pool.

Other finalists are Abdulai A Dasana, CEO & COO, Amaati Company Limited (Ghana), Aboubakar Karim, CEO & Founder, INVESTIV (Côte d'Ivoire) Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, CEO & Founder, Le Chocolatier Ivorien (Côte d'Ivoire) and Chebet Lesan, Founder & CEO, Bright Green R. Energy (Kenya).

Cyrille Nkontchou, Founder & Chairman, Enko Education (Cameroon), Ethel Mupambwa, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Moneymart (Zimbabwe) Mame Diarra Bousso Gueye, CEO & Founder, Diarrablu (Senegal) and Oluwasoga Oni, CEO & Co-Founder, Mdaas Global (Nigeria)

The 10 finalists were selected from over 22,000 applications all over Africa, representing eight African countries. Half of the finalist are female; the average age of 34.

On November 13th and 14th, Africa's Business Heroes will host its Grand Finale, and winners of the 2020 ABH prize will be announced on November 14th, 2020.

The confirmed judges for the final are Jack Ma, Ibukun Awosika, Strive Masiyiwa and Joe Tsai; this year's ABH television gala will air in November and December.

ANPI is a philanthropic initiative spearheaded by the Jack Ma Foundation aimed at supporting and inspiring the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

ANPI organizes the "Africa's Business Heroes" (ABH) prize competition, which aims to identify, support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their local communities, working to solve the most pressing problems, and building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future.

Over a ten-year period, ANPI will recognize 100 African entrepreneurs and commit to allocating $100 million in grant funding, training programs, and support for the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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