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Africa’s Business Heroes Unveils Community Leads and Launches New Scaleup Program

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Business-Heros

Entrepreneurs and SMEs across Africa have until 6th June to submit their applications for 2022 ABH Grant

KIGALI, Rwanda, April 22, 2022/APO Group/ — 

The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition (www.AfricaBusinessHeroes.org) has announced a new Community Lead and ScaleUp Program to provide more enhanced mentoring and networking opportunities for ABH applicants and finalists.

Now in its fourth year, applications for the ABH grant are currently open in both French and English and the competition has already drawn talented entrepreneurs from almost all of the 54 African countries. Entrants have come from a diverse spectrum of sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, Education, Fashion, Healthcare, Business Services, Media and Entertainment. To date, 32% of the entrants are female and 68% are male. As a Pan-African and all-inclusive initiative, ABH is encouraging entrepreneurs and small-business owners to join the competition and stand the chance to gain many of its benefits including access to training, mentorship and a pool of USD $1.5 million.

ABH has also announced the newly launched ABH Community Lead initiative to foster greater connection and engagement among ABH finalists and applicants. This program will be introduced in and led by:

  • Egypt, Cairo – Khadija El Bedweihy, PraxiLabs (https://PraxiLabs.com) (2021 1st Place Winner)
    ABH Local Community Lead for North Africa

“I immediately accepted this opportunity. Spreading the word to everyone I know and everyone I can reach about what ABH can do for their startups, how it can impact them just seems right. I am looking forward to lots of events, networking and knowledge-sharing and give-back.”

  • Nigeria, Lagos – Chibuzo Opara, DrugStoc (www.DrugStoc.com) (2019 Top 10 Finalist)
    ABH Local Community Lead for Anglophone West Africa (Lagos, Nigeria)

“It’s great to be part of this amazing program. I feel humbled to be a community lead working with entrepreneurs out of Nigeria to enable them to leverage the ABH platform to solve their challenges and create African business giants. Excited about the next couple of years – watch this space guys!”

  • Cote D’Ivoire, Abidjan – Moulaye Taboure, ANKA (https://bit.ly/3uZRg2I) (2019 Top 10 Finalist)
    ABH Local Community Lead for Francophone West Africa

“As the first francophone to ever be in the TOP10 (and the only at the time), I know for a fact that our region has just as much talented as Anglophone Africa. So, I am extremely proud and confident to help more heroes hail from Francophone Africa, watch out for us!”

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa – Patricia Nzolantima, Bizzoly Holdings (www.WorkingLadiesCabs.com) (2020 Top 50 Finalist)
    ABH Local Community Lead for Francophone Africa

“As a community lead, I hope to bring value, guidance, support and the necessary resources to DRC’s entrepreneurs. I hope to help entrepreneurs to believe in their dream and trust their process because entrepreneurship is a journey, not a destination. Entrepreneurs are the future of Africa!”

  • Kenya, Nairobi – Charlot Magayi, Mukuru Clean Stoves (www.MukuruStoves.org) (2021 Top 10 Finalist)
    ABH Local Community Lead for East Africa

“I am excited to be working with ABH as the local connect lead for Kenya. I hope my participation enables ABH to discover more heroes especially in East Africa and encourages more young people to pursue entrepreneurship.”

  • South Africa, Cape Town – Mampho Sotshongaye, Golden Rewards 1981cc (www.GoldenRewards1981cc.co.za) (2021 Top 20 Finalist)
    ABH Local Community Lead for Southern Africa

“This program enables entrepreneurs to engage with local counterparts, encourage one another as well as showcase their best entrepreneurial abilities. Creating platforms of empowerment is something that is dear to my heart. I am grateful to be given a role to contribute and encourage entrepreneurs to dream big.”

In each of these countries, Community Leads will have a platform to engage, collaborate and build a strong entrepreneurial community in their local markets. They will be organizing a range of offline events for ABH finalists including coffee, outdoor activities, discussions and vision boarding as well as events for ABH applicants such as information and networking sessions, ABH Show viewing parties and livestreams of the ABH Grand Finale.

Alongside the Community Leads initiative, ABH has also launched a new ABH ScaleUp program. The ScaleUp program will provide ABH entrants with holistic training sessions that cover a critical range of business operational areas for entrepreneurs and small businesses including People & HR Management, Strategy Planning, Financial Management, Growth, Fundraising, and Operations & Execution.

The ScaleUp training program will be led by ABH’s partners. Initial programs will cover a Management Development course led by African Management Institute (www.AfricanManagers.org) will equip managers with skills to empower teams and drive performance; an Investment Readiness program designed by VC4A will teach fundraising, negotiating with equity investors, debt finance and more; FinTech training by 10×1000 (www.10×1000.org) to provide entrepreneurs with the mindset knowledge and skills on the latest fintech topics and technologies to  become drivers of digital economic growth; and Financial Management by the South African Innovation Summit (SAIS) (www.InnovationSummit.co.za) to explore key financial topics around financial management to grow a business.

Beyond the training programs on offer to ABH finalists, the ScaleUp program will also include community-based learning sessions that are open to the wider ABH community including past applicants. One such event will be held this Friday, the 22nd of April at 14:00 GMT | 15:00 WAT | 16:00 CAT | 17:00 EAT and will focus on two topics that are vital to master when becoming a successful entrepreneur “Relationship Building” and “Resilience”. Interested participants can register now by following this link: https://bit.ly/36xopcy

To apply to the 2022 Africa’s Business Heroes competition and gain access to a wide range of benefits, enter your application on ABH’s official site (https://bit.ly/3OqQ6oq). You can also follow Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/36yDUB9), Twitter (https://bit.ly/3Or4fCd), Facebook (https://bit.ly/3L39gil) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/3kgDMtn).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH).

Events

As global power structures shift, Invest Africa convenes The Africa Debate 2026 to redefine partnership in a changing world

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Debate

The Africa Debate 2026 will provide a platform for this essential, era-defining discussion, convening leaders to explore how Africa and its partners can build more balanced, resilient and sustainable models of cooperation

LONDON, United Kingdom, February 5, 2026/APO Group/ –As African economies assert greater agency in a rapidly evolving global order, Invest Africa (www.InvestAfrica.com) is delighted to announce The Africa Debate 2026, its flagship investment forum, taking place at the historic Guildhall in London on 3 June 2026.

Now in its 12th year, The Africa Debate has established itself as London’s premier platform for African investment dialogue since launching in 2014, convening over 800 global decision-makers annually to shape the future of trade, finance, investment, and development across the continent.

Under the theme “Redefining Partnership: Navigating a World in Transition”, this year’s forum will focus on Africa’s response to global economic realignment with greater agency, ambition and economic sovereignty.

The Africa Debate puts Africa’s priorities at the centre of the conversation, moving beyond traditional narratives to focus on ownership, resilience and long-term value creation.

“Volatility is not new to Africa. What is changing is the opportunity to respond with greater agency and ambition,” says Invest Africa CEO Chantelé Carrington.

“This year’s edition of The Africa Debate asks how we strengthen economic sovereignty — from access to capital and investment to financial and industrial policy — so African economies can take greater ownership of their growth. Success will be defined by how effectively we turn disruption into leverage and partnership into shared value.”

The Africa Debate 2026 will provide a platform for this essential, era-defining discussion, convening leaders to explore how Africa and its partners can build more balanced, resilient and sustainable models of cooperation.

Key challenges driving the debate

Core focus areas for this year’s edition of The Africa Debate include:

This year’s edition of The Africa Debate asks how we strengthen economic sovereignty — from access to capital and investment to financial and industrial policy

Global Realignment & New Partnerships

How shifting geopolitical and economic power structures are reshaping Africa’s global partnerships, trade dynamics and investment landscape.

Financing Africa’s Future

The growing need to reform the global financial architecture, new approaches to development finance, as well as the strengthening of market access and financial resilience of African economies in a changing global system.

Strategic Value Chains

Moving beyond primary exports to build local value chains in critical minerals for the green economy. Also addressing Africa’s energy access gap and mobilising investment in renewable and transitional energy systems.

Digital Transformation & Technology

Unlocking growth in fintech, AI and digital infrastructure to drive productivity, inclusion, and the next phase of Africa’s economic transformation.

The Africa Debate 2026 offers a unique platform for high-level dialogue, deal-making, and strategic engagement. Attendees will gain actionable insights from leading policymakers, investors and business leaders shaping Africa’s economic future, while building strategic partnerships that define the continent’s next growth phase.

Registration is now open (http://apo-opa.co/46b19gj).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Invest Africa.

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Business

Zion Adeoye terminated as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CLG due to serious personal and professional conduct violations

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CLG

After a thorough internal and external investigation, along with a disciplinary hearing chaired by Sbongiseni Dube, CLG (https://CLGglobal.com) has made the decision to terminate Zion Adeoye due to serious personal and professional conduct violations. This process adhered to the Code of Good Practice of the Labour Relations Act, ensuring fairness, transparency, and compliance with South African law.

Mr. Adeoye has been held accountable for several serious offenses, including:

  • Making malicious and defamatory statements against colleagues
  • Extortion
  • Intimidation
  • Fraud
  • Misuse of company funds
  • Theft and misappropriation of funds
  • Breach of fiduciary duty
  • Mismanagement

His actions are in direct contradiction to our firm’s core values. We do not approve of attorneys spending time in a Gentleman’s Club. CLG deeply regrets the impact this situation has had on our colleagues and continues to provide full support to those affected.

We want to express our gratitude to those who spoke up and to reassure everyone at the firm of our unwavering commitment to maintaining a respectful workplace. Misconduct of any kind is unacceptable and will be addressed decisively.

We recognize the seriousness of this matter and have referred it to the appropriate law enforcement, regulatory, and legal authorities in Nigeria, Mauritius, and South Africa. We kindly ask that the privacy of the third party involved be respected.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of CLG.

 

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Business

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Strengthens Partnership with the Republic of Djibouti through US$35 Million Financing Facility

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ITFC

This facility forms part of the US$600 million, three-year Framework Agreement signed in May 2023 between ITFC and the Republic of Djibouti, reflecting the strong and growing partnership between both parties

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, February 5, 2026/APO Group/ –The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (https://www.ITFC-IDB.org), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, has signed a US$35 million sovereign financing facility with the Republic of Djibouti to support the development of the country’s bunkering services sector and strengthen its position as a strategic regional maritime and trade hub.

The facility was signed at the ITFC Headquarters in Jeddah by Eng. Adeeb Yousuf Al-Aama, Chief Executive Officer of ITFC, and H.E. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of Industry of the Republic of Djibouti.

The financing facility is expected to contribute to Djibouti’s economic growth and revenue diversification by reinforcing the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Djibouti Port as a “one-stop port” offering comprehensive vessel-related services. With Red Sea Bunkering (RSB) as the Executing Agency, the facility will support the procurement of refined petroleum products, thus boosting RSB’s bunkering operations, enhancing revenue diversification, and consolidating Djibouti’s role as a key logistics and trading hub in the Horn of Africa and the wider region.

We look forward to deepening this partnership, creating new opportunities, and leveraging collaborative programs to advance key sectors and drive sustainable economic growth

Commenting on the signing, Eng. Adeeb Yousuf Al-Aama, CEO of ITFC, stated:

“This financing reflects ITFC’s continued commitment to supporting Djibouti’s strategic development priorities, particularly in strengthening energy security, port competitiveness, and trade facilitation. We are proud to deepen our partnership with the Republic of Djibouti and contribute to sustainable economic growth and regional integration.”

H.E. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Minister of Economy and Finance in charge of Industry of the Republic of Djibouti, commented: “Today’s signing marks an important milestone in the development of Djibouti’s bunkering services and reflects our strong and valued partnership with ITFC, particularly in the oil and gas sector. This collaboration supports our ambition to position Djibouti as a regional hub for integrated maritime and logistics services. We look forward to deepening this partnership, creating new opportunities, and leveraging collaborative programs to advance key sectors and drive sustainable economic growth.”

This facility forms part of the US$600 million, three-year Framework Agreement signed in May 2023 between ITFC and the Republic of Djibouti, reflecting the strong and growing partnership between both parties.

Since its inception in 2008, ITFC and the Republic of Djibouti have maintained a strong partnership, with a total of US$1.8 billion approved primarily supporting the country’s energy sector and trade development objectives.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

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