The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, has named the winners of this year’s competition.
The top three Africa’s Business Heroes for 2023 are:
* First prize – winning $300 000 – Dr Ikpeme Neto, CEO and founder of Wellahealth Technologies (Nigeria);
* Second prize – winning $250 000 – Thomas Njeru, CEO and co-founder of Pula Advisors (Kenya); and
* Third prize – winning $150 000 – Ayman Bazaraa, CEO and co-founder of Sprints (Egypt).
The top three winners were selected through multiple stages of interviews and evaluations from a 27 267 applications spanning all 54 African nations.
Apart from the three final winners, the top 10 contestants will each receive $100 000 in prize funding from ABH. An extra $10 000 will also be allocated to each of the top 10 finalists for post-competition training programs.
“I am deeply honored to be named this year’s Africa’s Business Heroes winner. This award energises my commitment to driving positive change through innovation. I extend heartfelt gratitude to ABH for empowering entrepreneurs like me, and I am dedicated to shaping a brighter future for our continent through entrepreneurship. I am excited for the recognition of Wellahealth Technologies’ work, and grateful for my team, family and the ABH team for making this impact in healthcare across Africa possible,” says Dr Neto.