Business
Africa’s Business Heroes Builds Out Vibrant Ecosystem of Partners and Judges
Entrepreneurs and small business owners will have until June 6 to apply for this year’s edition
Entrepreneurs and small business owners will have until June 6 to apply for this year’s edition
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 25, 2022/ — The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org) has expanded its ecosystem of partners and judges for its 4th edition. With a more robust partner and judge network in place, the ABH program will be able to better fulfil its mission of spotlighting and supporting entrepreneurs from all industries across the continent.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners will have until June 6 to apply for this year’s edition. ABH is one of the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic programs. The official slogan for 2022, “It’s African Time”, is a bold call to action to all talented African entrepreneurs who are challenging stereotypes associated with “African time” – creating local impact and building a better, more inclusive future through their businesses.
ABH continues to deepen its partnership with anchor partners – The Room (www.TheRoom.com) (an initiative of the African Leadership International), SA Innovation Summit (SAIS) (https://InnovationSummit.co.za), RiseUp (www.RiseUpsummit.com), VC4A (https://VC4A.com/) and Ashesi (www.Ashesi.edu.gh). Alongside its anchor partners, ABH will provide applicants with a range of training and talent development programs.
ABH has also increased its pool of channel partners to influential stakeholders in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. These partners will bolster the program’s efforts in finding Heroes across Africa as well as providing participants with additional resources and support. The channel partner pool now includes African Management Institute (AMI) (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org), African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) (www.AWIEForum.org), AfriLabs (https://Afrilabs.com/), Briter Bridges (https://BriterBridges.com), Disrupt Africa (https://Disrupt-Africa.com), ImpactHub Dakar (https://Dakar.ImpactHub.net), MEST Africa (https://Meltwater.org), Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Enterprise (MCISE) (https://www.MCISE.org/) and Seedstars International (https://www.Seedstars.com).
- “AfriLabs is committed to supporting programmes and interventions targeted at enabling entrepreneurs, creating a conducive environment for ventures to thrive while stimulating economic growth and social development in Africa. Through this partnership with ABH, we will leverage our Pan African community to scout business heroes from across the continent to stand a chance to be one of the finalists.” – Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs
- “Disrupt Africa is happy to partner with Africa’s Business Heroes and play a part in helping early-stage tech startups on the continent access vital funding and support. We will utilise our network and reach to ensure this valuable opportunity gets in front of as many founders as possible.” – Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.
- “In partnering with Africa’s Business Heroes, the Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (MCISE) aspires to convey one of the best international and African opportunities to its community and beyond. This endeavor draws on the MCISE’s previous efforts since 2012 to foster social entrepreneurship in Morocco and provide an opportunity for Moroccan entrepreneurs to broaden their projects to a continental scale.” – Nafaa Hanane, Communication and Marketing Manager of MCISE.
- “At Seedstars, our mission has always been to create a positive impact in emerging markets, so this partnership with ABH is something our team is excited about. The African startup ecosystem is beaming with opportunities and we’re thrilled to be one of the organizations helping further enable its growth.” – Lina Ng’inja, Head of Partnerships in Africa for Seedstars.
- “The African Management Institute (AMI) is one of the leaders in business learning across Africa. We believe that skilled people build thriving businesses, thriving businesses create quality jobs, and quality jobs drive prosperity and dignity. That is why are very excited about our new partnership with Africa’s Business Heroes, an initiative of the Jack Ma Foundation. Behind each thriving business is a hero and team of people growing Africa’s economy and prosperity, one success at a time,” said – Patricia Maina, Partnerships & Gender Lead at AMI. “AMI and ABH’s missions are uniquely aligned, and together, we are committed to enabling ambitious African entrepreneurs across the continent to thrive, turning Africa’s business heroes into Africa’s business superheroes.”
Ventureburn, Ventures Africa and AfterSchool Africa will also support ABH’s efforts in amplifying the ongoing call for applications. In addition, ABH is expanding its community of Judges who will help narrow down applications received to the Top 50, Top 20 and Top 10.
ABH Judges currently include senior professionals from companies such as Facebook, Mastercard, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, VC firms as well as established entrepreneurs such as Dr. Anino Emuwa of Avandis Counslting and Rafeh Saleh of Cubit Ventures. Seasoned entrepreneurs, VCs, academics and business professionals from all sectors are invited to join the ABH community of judges here (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org).
Current judges reflected on their experience with ABH and are encouraging others to join ABH as fellow judges.
- “Being an ABH judge was an exciting, inspiring, and humbling experience for me. I learned a lot and it was a great opportunity to share my knowledge and expertise with the applicants and my fellow judges. Most of all, it was an honour to watch and support such committed change-makers across the continent, they are all true heroes,” says Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy, West Africa at Facebook.
- “Exceptional young entrepreneurs and fresh ideas! Judging and mentoring through ABH is a great way to give back, while also learning about new trends and business models emerging throughout the continent,” says Matthew Grollnek, Consultant – Venture Fund Lead, Mastercard Foundation.
ABH is currently calling for all entrepreneurs, start-ups and business owners across the continent and every sector, age group, and gender to submit their application – in either French or English – for a chance to become one of the Top 10 finalists. Applicants for this year’s ABH competition (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org) have less than three weeks to throw their hats in the ring for their chance to win a share of the US$1.5 million grant. To date, the competition has already attracted applications from all 54 African countries for the third consecutive year.
In addition to a cash grant, applicants will also gain access to mentoring, networking, and publicity opportunities for their ventures. All applicants also have access to training and scaling opportunities across a vast range of business disciplines in the form of webinars, presentations, and events. They can also take advantage of the competition’s ABH Community Lead program, which gives them access to Heroes from the competition across the years.
To apply to the 2022 Africa’s Business Heroes competition, enter your application on ABH’s official site (https://bit.ly/3Ngq1rT). You can also follow Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/36KuX7A), Twitter (https://bit.ly/3wBUV7S), Facebook (https://bit.ly/37NRKQb) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/358i5Ye).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH).
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Tony Elumelu Foundation Selects Seven North African Entrepreneurs in 2026 Cohort
Seven North African entrepreneurs in technology, education, professional services and agriculture selected from 265,000 applications at historic Abuja ceremony
Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build
- 7 North African entrepreneurs selected from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt
- 51% of the 2026 cohort are women, all selected purely on merit, without any quota in place
- 3,200 total entrepreneurs selected from 265,000+ applications across 54 African countries
- USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital for each selected entrepreneur
- Selection conducted independently by Ernst & Young
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) (www.TonyElumeluFoundation.org), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs, announced on Sunday, 22 March 2026 the 12th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme at a ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The announcement was made by Founder Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R.
Among the 3,200 entrepreneurs selected from 265,000 applications received from all 54 African countries: seven from North Africa. Three from Tunisia, two from Morocco, two from Egypt. Spanning technology, education, professional services and agribusiness, they represent a generation of North African founders building businesses that address the urgent needs of their communities. Their selection, which was conducted independently by Ernst & Young, places them among the most rigorously assessed young entrepreneurs on the continent.
This year’s cohort carries a historic signal: 51 percent of the 2026 entrepreneurs are women. They were selected purely on merit, without quota. Across hundreds of thousands of applications, women distinguished themselves through the strength of their ideas, the clarity of their business models and the ambition of their vision.
In 2026, the Foundation is empowering a total of 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes:
- 1,751 entrepreneurs through Heirs Holdings Group: Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and United Capital;
- 1,049 entrepreneurs in partnership with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ and GIZ;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the Dutch Government; and
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to world-class business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a powerful network of investors, partners and fellow entrepreneurs.
In his annual letter (https://apo-opa.co/4uOFepM), “A Story of Hope,” Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, shared a powerful message to the new cohort:
“For a long time, I believed luck was something that simply happened to you. Then I came to understand: luck can be engineered. Opportunity can be democratised. Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build.” — Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation — 2026 Annual Letter
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 2.5 million young Africans with access to business management training on TEFConnect (https://TEFConnect.com), and disbursed over USD 100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs.
Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated USD 4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Through its support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46% of supported entrepreneurs being African women. Eighty percent of TEF-supported businesses survive and scale, against a global average of ten to twenty percent.
The announcement ceremony was broadcast live in English (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), French (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), Portuguese (https://apo-opa.co/4t4Y7Da) and Arabic (https://apo-opa.co/4bYHlQl).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
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