Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) Joins Forces With Ecosystem of Partners for the 2020 “Afri...
June 03 2020 - 4:06AM
Business Wire
- ANPI has teamed up with local partners from across Africa to
identify and engage with talented African entrepreneurs for the
2020 Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition
- 2020 Anchor Partners African Leadership Group, Ashesi, Dalberg,
Janngo, and RiseUp have been key to equipping entrepreneurs with
training, skills and resources
- To date, ABH has received 18,000 applications from candidates
representing all 54 countries in Africa
The Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative
(ANPI) has joined forces with local partners from across Africa to
identify and mobilise innovative, resilient, and mission-driven
African entrepreneurs, as well as support them throughout the
application and selection process of the second edition of the
Africa’s Business Heroes prize competition (ABH).
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ANPI’s Anchor Partners for 2020 are African Leadership
Group, Ashesi, Dalberg, Janngo, and RiseUp. Since
the official launch of applications on April 6, local partners have
been instrumental in promoting the ABH prize competition in their
respective regions, helping to identify and engage with potential
applicants. Partners have also worked closely with aspiring
candidates to build up their management and leadership capabilities
- sharing knowledge, best practices and insights from across their
networks, as well as delivering training and education programs.
Programs include the ‘Africa’s Business Webinar Series’ – which to
date, have drawn more than 7,000 entrepreneurs to participate.
The Africa’s Business Heroes prize competition - which is open
for applications in both English and French - aims to provide
entrepreneurs from across Africa a platform to showcase and develop
their talent and business ideas. The prize is open to all
entrepreneurs regardless of country, industry, age or gender. ABH
will culminate in a grand finale later this year where the top 10
finalists will pitch global business legends for a chance to win
their share of a US$1.5 million prize pool.
ANPI has also been working with a diverse ecosystem of partners,
including business incubators (Ethiopia Entrepreneurship
Development Center, StartUp Factory Ethiopia, CTIC, Impact Hub
Dakar, Outlierz Ventures, WikiStart Up, i4policy),
communications platforms (Sasai), mobile network operators
(Safaricom) and media outlets (Pulse.Africa and
Startimes) to further amplify grassroots outreach to
entrepreneurs and to make educational and training resources more
widely accessible.
“We are honored to be able to work closely with these
exceptional local partners to bring the Africa’s Business Heroes
prize competition to all corners of Africa and spotlight talented
entrepreneurs from across the continent. Our extraordinary partners
share our mission and commitment to enabling entrepreneurship and
together, we hope to support entrepreneur heroes who will create
jobs and opportunities for their local communities as well as
catalyze a movement of entrepreneurship across Africa,” said
Jason Pau, Senior Advisor for International Programs for the
Jack Ma Foundation.
The 2020 edition of the ABH prize competition has received a
tremendous level of interest and responses. To date, ABH has
received 18,000 applications from candidates representing all 54
countries in Africa. Last year’s inaugural edition of the
competition drew nearly 10,000 applications from 50 African
countries. This year, in recognition of the extraordinary
circumstances facing entrepreneurs and SMEs around the world and in
Africa, the deadline for applications will be extended from June 9
to June 22. To apply and for the latest updates on the Prize,
please visit: africabusinessheroes.org and follow @africa_heroes on
Twitter. To see a documentary into the journeys of 2019 finalists,
please visit YouTube.
Anchor Partners commented on their ongoing collaboration with
ANPI, noting:
- “Now more than ever, we need an abundance of entrepreneurs to
unleash the innovation and job creation necessary to unlock
Africa’s full potential. The African Leadership Group is excited to
continue our partnership with the Africa Netpreneur Prize
Initiative to catalyse the continent’s next generation of bold,
courageous and imaginative problem-solving entrepreneurs,” said
Fred Swaniker, Founder and CEO of the African Leadership
Group.
- “The Africa’s Business Heroes programme brings new emphasis and
resources to the continent’s potential to become a hub for
problem-solving and is set to become one of the most catalytic
platforms for young entrepreneurs. Ashesi is excited to join in the
work to achieve this vision of African entrepreneurship together
with the Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative.”
commented Ebenezer Buckman, Director of External Relations &
Special Assistant to the President, Ashesi.
- “Dalberg is proud to partner with the Jack Ma Foundation’s
Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI). We share the conviction
that entrepreneurship is a vehicle for social and economic
transformation on the continent, and that Africa’s entrepreneurs
can achieve the dual objectives of profit and purpose," said
Robin Miller, Partner & Global Digital and Data Practice
Lead of Dalberg. "As an Africa-focused enterprise ourselves, we
have also been on that same journey to build a platform that now
supports Africa’s transformation from 13 offices across the
continent. We are therefore proud that our Anchor Partnership
involves working with the Jack Ma Foundation to build
entrepreneurial resilience across the continent.”
- “We are very proud to partner with the Jack Ma Foundation, as
we share the same entrepreneurial DNA, the same innovation spirit,
the same passion for Africa and the same conviction that technology
can leapfrog the development of our beloved continent. It’s time
for action: entrepreneurs are Africa's true business heroes as they
strive to create everyday life-changing solutions for all Africans
and massive job opportunities for the youth. As a pan-African
female-led VC investor, Janngo is also very proud to back female
entrepreneurs and encourage them to apply massively to the Africa
Netpreneur Prize Initiative 2020,” said Fatoumata Ba, Founder
and Executive Chair of Janngo.
- “RiseUp is thrilled to be partnering with the Jack Ma
Foundation's Africa Netpreneur Initiative Prize (ANPI) for the
second year in a row as we search together for Africa's 2020
Business Heroes! Amid today's global challenges, RiseUp and the
Jack Ma Foundation are brought together by a shared belief in the
power of courage, creativity, and innovation to solve the world's
most pressing problems. We're searching for Africa's next
generation of business heroes and the Jack Ma Foundation's
far-reaching impact across the African continent makes them the
perfect partner for this endeavour!” said Abdelhameed Sharara
CEO & Co-founder of RiseUp.
About ANPI
The ANPI is the flagship philanthropic initiative spearheaded by
the Jack Ma Foundation aimed at supporting and inspiring the next
generation of African entrepreneurs across all sectors, who are
building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future of
the continent. Over a ten-year period, ANPI will recognize 100
African entrepreneurs and commit to allocating US$100 million in
grant funding, training programs, and support for the development
of an entrepreneurial ecosystem. The ANPI organizes the “Africa's
Business Heroes” prize competition and show, in which ten finalists
have the opportunity to pitch their business to win a share of $1.5
million in grant money. Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and the
Jack Ma Foundation, first created the prize after he made his first
trip to Africa in July 2017 and was inspired by the energy and
entrepreneurial potential of the young people he met with.
About Jack Ma Foundation
Established by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group, the Jack
Ma Foundation was founded on 15 December 2014 and has been focusing
on education, entrepreneurship, women’s leadership, and the
environment. The Foundation aspires to be a reliable,
participative, and sustainable philanthropic organisation. The Jack
Ma Foundation has so far supported projects worldwide including the
Jack Ma Rural Education Program, the Africa Netpreneur Prize
Initiative, the Ma & Morley Scholarship Program, and Jordan's
Queen Rania Foundation. Additionally, the Foundation has also
funded a number of projects in its priority areas. The Jack Ma
Foundation is committed to empowering rural educators,
entrepreneurs, rural children, young start-ups, and women to equip
them for the future and to help build a happier, healthier, more
sustainable and more inclusive society.
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Holly Zhao (+1)5054693316 holly.zhao@alibaba-inc.com
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