Times Of Swaziland: JACK MA COMPETITION: NO LISWATI IN TOP 50

JACK MA COMPETITION: NO LISWATI IN TOP 50
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BY ASHMOND NZIMA  on 28/07/2020 06:28:00


MBABANE- No liSwati has made the cut in the top 50 finalists of the 2020
Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Competition organised by the Jack Ma
Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI).
Jack Ma is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist.
In April this year, this publication reported that applications were open to
African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries including Eswatini, as well
as every sector, age group, and gender.
The ABH prize competition and show is organised by the Africa Netpreneur Prize
Initiative (ANPI), which is the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic
programme in the continent.
According to a correspondence copied to this publication yesterday, the 50
finalists were selected from over 22 000 applications all over Africa,
representing 21 African countries. Half are female, and work in 18 sectors like
agriculture, AI, e-commerce, fashion, healthcare, renewable energy, ICT,
logistics, manufacturing, management services, retail and transportation.
The 2020 top 50 finalists come from Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte
d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya,
Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania,
Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The number of emaSwati who had shown interest could not be immediately
ascertained but reports suggested there were local applications.
Eswatini and Lesotho are the only countries to miss out in the five-member
Southern African Customs Union region comprising South Africa, Namibia and
Botswana.
Finalists will advance to the next round of selection and will participate in an
exclusive virtual boot camp today.
Journey
The selected entrepreneurs will continue their journey in the competition, for a
chance to become one of the 10 entrepreneurs that will compete in the grand
finale later this year.
“The average age of the cohort is 37 with the youngest candidate aged 22 and
the eldest aged 64.  At least 50 per cent of the candidates are female – a 24
per cent increase from the debut competition last year, and 32 per cent are
francophone, reflecting this year’s competition opening applications in French
for the first time,” reads the correspondence in part.
Over the past month, a panel of 140 highly skilled and experienced judges are
said to have reviewed the submissions, evaluating applicants’ leadership and
vision, their ability to translate their innovations and ideas into sustainable
and robust business models, and their commitment to create positive impact to
uplift their communities.
“Judges, whose unrivalled knowledge and industry expertise has brought immense
added value to the selection process, represented a variety of key sectors in
Africa, such as agriculture, tech, retail and e-commerce, education, healthcare,
finance, logistics, and tourism.
“Before stepping into the second round of selection, which will determine the
top 20 finalists, the 50 selected entrepreneurs will be invited to join an
exclusive virtual boot camp hosted by the Africa’s Business Heroes team,”
further reads the correspondence.
Generation
ABH aims to identify, support and inspire the next generation of African
entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their local communities, working to
solve the most pressing problems, and building a more sustainable and inclusive
economy for the future.
This year marks the second edition after a successful launch in 2019. Every
year, 10 finalists will be selected to compete in a finale pitch competition
show that will be broadcast online and across the continent.
According to the correspondence, at this year’s grand finale, all 10 finalists
will share a prize pool of US$1.5 million (about E24.7 million in yesterday’s
exchange rate)
The selected countries: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, DR
Congo, Egypt,,Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia ,
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.