The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation to spotlight and support African entrepreneurs, has announced it is extending the application deadline for this year’s competition to the 20th of June.
African entrepreneurs running a business in Africa will have until 20th June to enter the 2022 competition for their chance to access training, mentorship, and a share of a $1.5 million grant.
The extension has been made in recognition of the strong level of interest from across the continent. The new deadline will give a chance to potential applicants who are yet to apply and also allow current entrants to complete their applications.
To date, ABH has already received applications from all 54 countries in Africa, and has also seen a rise in entrants from Central African nations. Women are also well-represented amongst the current pool of applicants and currently make up more than 30% of applications. ABH is also putting out a special call to entrepreneurs whose countries are still underrepresented – including Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal – to apply to this year’s competition.
“ABH is committed to being a fully inclusive and pan-African initiative and it is heartening to have seen a tremendous response from entrepreneurs across Africa this year. We aim to have all of the countries and regions of Africa well-represented in this year’s edition and to have a truly diverse set of finalists. We encourage all talented and mission-driven entrepreneurs from underrepresented countries to seize this opportunity to tell their stories and grow their businesses,” says Zahra Baitie-Boateng, Head of Partnerships & Programs, ABH.
ABH is also calling on venture capitalists, investors, corporations and NGOs from around the world to join the 2022 competition as judges. ABH judges are in a unique position to positively contribute to the growth of talented African start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses. Judges will gain recognition for both themselves and the entities they represent as well as access to the ABH community of more than 75,000 investors, partners, and entrepreneurs.
“Being part of the ABH experience as a judge is phenomenal. I got to meet companies of many shapes, sizes, industries, verticals, tech and non-tech. I also got to engage with companies of tremendous impact solving grass-roots issues across the continent. It’s a very enriching experience and that’s why I’m keen to participate for the third year in a row,” said Rafeh Saleh, Founding Partner of Cubit Ventures – an early-stage venture fund backing digital startups in Egypt; ABH Round 1 & 2 Judge (2020 – 2022).
