Participants stressed the continent's untapped business opportunities and the pressing need for strategic financial planning, particularly amid ongoing global challenges adversely affecting Africa.
The ABH Summit, marking its fifth anniversary, serves as a platform for the ABH Prize Competition, where five Egyptian entrepreneurs competed in September to secure spots among the top 10 finalists. Ayman Bazaraa, the Founder of Sprints, an e-learning and e-training platform, emerged as the sole Egyptian entrepreneur among the finalists.
Sprints offers a comprehensive solution to address the tech talent gap, encompassing talent assessment, customised learning journeys, job placement, and ongoing career support. Sprints stands out as the sole social enterprise in the Middle East and Africa, providing guaranteed hiring programs, with graduates only paying fees upon successful hiring, structured as 0% interest payments over three years.
In its four years of operation, Sprints has facilitated over 50,000 learning experiences, graduated more than 15,000 learners, and delivered over 1.3 million learning hours across 13 high-demand technology fields. The pricing model ranges from $50 to $400 based on the learning program’s objective and duration.
Sun Lijing, Partner of Alibaba Partnership and Board Member of the Jack Ma Foundation, emphasised the pivotal milestone of the event's fifth year. The ABH Summit has witnessed the participation of nearly 100,000 entrepreneurs from all 54 African nations and engaged over 900 esteemed entrepreneurs and investors as judges. Lijing highlighted the burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit powered by the digital economy in both China and Africa over the past five years.
He further underscored the fusion of digital technology with entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for young Africans to address societal challenges in education, healthcare, and the economy. African entrepreneurs have demonstrated unwavering resilience despite facing global challenges in the last two years.
Lijing noted the heightened attention garnered by the 2023 competition, bringing together Africa's finest entrepreneurial minds. The event symbolises the continent's vast innovative and entrepreneurial potential, with over 27,000 participants from all 54 African nations and women representing an all-time high of 34%.
The ABH Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the renowned Chinese Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, is dedicated to supporting and inspiring the next generation of African entrepreneurs across all sectors, aiming to foster a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the continent's future.
Over a decade, ABH has committed to recognising 100 African entrepreneurs and allocating grant funding, training programs, and support to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation, conceived the prize following his inaugural trip to Africa in 2017, inspired by the energy and entrepreneurial potential of the young people he encountered.
Since its inception in 2019, entrepreneurs across Africa have applied for the competition annually, undergoing rigorous evaluation by ABH judges. The selection of finalists is based on their demonstration of visionary entrepreneurship, embodying innovation, resilience, growth potential, and impact on Africa. ABH aims to honour entrepreneurs leading successful businesses and running mission-driven organisations that contribute to growth in their local communities.
In general, ABH’s top 10 finalists have achieved remarkable milestones, raising over $153 million in investment, serving over 37.5 million customers and users, receiving $7 million in prize money, operating in 52 countries across Africa, creating over 123,000 direct and indirect jobs, and reporting revenues exceeding $252 million.
Zahra Baitie-Boateng, Head of Partnerships & Programs at ABH, emphasised the commitment of 45 speakers from 19 countries during the summit. Entrepreneurs, investors, economists, and experts united to support African entrepreneurship under the theme "African Innovation, Insights & Impact."
During the event, the ABH summit delved into key themes such as African innovation, impact, and insights.
Since 2018, 10 finalists have been selected annually to compete in the ABH Grand Finale, live-streamed online, vying for a share of $1.5 million in grant funding. The winner secures $300,000, the first runner-up $250,000, and the second runner-up $150,000. The remaining seven finalists each receive $100,000; the remaining $100,000 is distributed among all finalists for additional training programs post-competition.
This year marked the inauguration of ABH’s Journalism Excellence Awards, recognising outstanding journalists in North, South, East, West, and Central Africa and those covering pan-African issues. Doaa Abdel-Moneim, Head of the Business and Economic Affairs Desk at Ahram Online, emerged as the best journalist in North Africa and will be honoured during a ceremony at the Kigali Convention Center on Friday.
In September, five Egyptian entrepreneurs vied for a place among the top three winners in the fifth edition of the ABH Prize Competition's semi-finals in Kigali.
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