Nigerians Top Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative

Emma Okonji
The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has identified the top 10 finalists for its grand finale event taking place in Accra, Ghana on 16 November 2019. Among them were four Nigerians which included the co-Founder, Thrive Agric, Ayodeji Arikawe; Founder and CEO, LifeBank, Temie Giwa-Tubosun; Founder, Black Swan, Dr. Tosan Mogbeyiteren and Co- Founder, DrugStoc, Chibuzo Opara.

The finalists were chosen from nearly 10,000 applicants from 50 African countries. After months of judging and deliberation, the finalists were shortlisted and would now go on to pitch their business directly to four judges – Founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation, Jack Ma; Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group, Strive Masiyiwa; Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and Founder/CEO of The Chair Centre Group, Ibukun Awosika and Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group, Joe Tsai, during a televised finale event called “Africa’s Business Heroes”.

The winners would receive a share of the $1 million grant prize pool.
The Jack Ma Foundation would host a full-day Africa Netpreneur Summit, an invitation-only conference where African and global entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and leaders will convene to discuss how best to enable entrepreneurship and the digital economy across the continent.

Guest speakers at the conference will include Former UN Secretary General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, Ban Ki-moon. The conference will be followed by the “Africa’s Business Heroes” event in the evening.

“We launched the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative to identify top entrepreneurs from across the continent, not only to reward them but to inspire a whole new generation of potential gamechangers for Africa. I have been inspired by the entrepreneurs I met in Africa, many of whom are dealing with the same challenges we faced when we started Alibaba years ago. I truly believe the potential of Africa’s business heroes is limitless,” said Jack Ma.

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