Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition
Africa's Business Heroes (Jack Ma Foundation / Alibaba Philanthropy)
Annual pan-African prize for founders of businesses with 3+ years of operations and revenue. Ten finalists share USD 1.5M in grants (1st place USD 300,000) plus training and the ABH network. Open to entrepreneurs of African citizenship/heritage from all 54 countries, incl. Ghana.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Africa
- Education required
- None
- Fields
- Entrepreneurship, Business
- Language
- Application and video in English or French
- Residency
- Business must be headquartered in an African country and primarily operate in Africa
- Also required
- Founder or co-founder with African citizenship, or a parent/grandparent with African citizenship
- Business operational for at least 3 years with at least 3 years of revenue history
- Business licence/registration certificate or proof of 3+ years of operation
- Founder video of 1 minute 30 seconds or less
About this opportunity
Africa's Business Heroes is a philanthropic prize competition for African entrepreneurs. Each year ten finalists share USD 1.5 million in grants: USD 300,000 (1st), 250,000 (2nd), 150,000 (3rd) and 100,000 each for 4th-10th, plus training funds and lifelong access to the ABH network and mentorship.
Applicants must be founders/co-founders with African citizenship (or a parent or grandparent with African citizenship) whose business is headquartered in Africa, operates mainly in Africa and has at least three years of operations and revenue history. All sectors, ages and genders are eligible. Applications (English or French) include a government ID, business registration or proof of 3+ years of operation and a founder video of up to 90 seconds. Selection runs from screening and semi-finals to a Top 10 grand finale. The 2026 deadline was 7 May 2026; the 2027 round is expected around March.
- Level
- Any level
- Where
- Multiple countries
- Duration
- Annual competition: applications in spring, multi-round selection, grand finale later in the year; finalists join the ABH network
- Number of awards
- Top 10 finalists share USD 1.5M (1st USD 300,000; 2nd 250,000; 3rd 150,000; 4th-10th 100,000 each)
- Difficulty
- Very high · about 4 weeks to prepare
Funding
Prize
- prize money
- training
USD 1.5M shared by Top 10 (USD 100,000 to 300,000 each) plus training funds, mentorship and ABH network membership
What you will need
- Passport or national ID
- Video submission
- Financial documents
- Other documents
Government-issued ID (passport, national ID or voter's card); business registration certificate or proof of 3+ years' operation; revenue-history evidence; reference nomination; mandatory founder video (max 1:30, English or French); optional customer-testimonial and team videos.
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