Among the 50 finalists from 20 countries selected in the fifth cohort of Africa’s Business Heroes Initiative, 10 hailed from Kenya.
Africa’s Business Heroes prize competition held annually, financed by Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy aims to aid entrepreneurs across Africa.
The top ten ABH finalists will contest for $1.5 million (Sh211.1 million).
ABH aims to recognise 100 African entrepreneurs in a period of over 10 years.
The 50 finalists in the 2023 edition represent 10 sectors with 38 per cent containing female proprietors from over 27,000 applications that were submitted by the 54 countries.
Kenyan businesses included: Apiculture Venture Limited, Aquarech LTD, Irri-Hub Ke, Keep IT Cool (Raino Tech4 Impact), Powwater Limited, Pula Advisors Limited, Sentinel Africa Consulting Ltd, Solutech Limited, Synnefa and Viebeg Medical and Dental Supplies Ltd.
Other enterprises involved include 12 from Nigeria, six from Egypt, South Africa had three and two from Benin, DRC, and Ghana.
Botswana, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Tunisia all had one entry.
The 10 will parade their enterprises to a panel of experts who will provide training to elevate their businesses.
Speaking at the ABH Prize Competition, the head of partnerships and programmes, Zahra Baitie-Boateng acknowledged the capabilities of entrepreneurs as a power source of economic and social growth.
“We are extremely impressed with the diversity of our Heroes, and we encourage entrepreneurs from all countries, especially those from smaller countries to solve some of Africa's most challenging issues with their unique stories,” Baitie-Boateng said.
