NAIROBI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Africa's Business Heroes (ABH), a pan-African philanthropic initiative sponsored by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, held a roadshow and training session for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Thursday night.
Dozens of budding entrepreneurs, innovators, and past winners of the annual ABH prize competition graced the event to learn how to grow their businesses in an interconnected world.
Zahra Baitie-Boateng, managing director for Africa at the ABH Initiative, said Kenya was among the African countries selected for roadshows and training sessions to enlighten upcoming entrepreneurs on how to participate in the 2024 prize competition, open for application from March 4 to May 19.
"In our sixth year, we have a very strong community for them to join, with like-minded entrepreneurs, judges, and mentors from around the world, and access to a wide range of training," Zahra said.
She revealed that the semifinals and grand finals of the 2024 edition of the ABH will be held in person later this year, where contestants will have ample opportunity to interact with judges and fellow entrepreneurs.
According to Zahra, the competition judges will be looking for sustainable businesses that are solving a perennial societal challenge, have market traction, pay customers, and have generated revenue over two years; the enterprises should have a clear passion, purpose, and impact, while the founders should have clarity on the kind of challenges they are keen to offer solutions to.
Zahra disclosed that later in the year, the ABH will sponsor all heroes from the past five editions to travel to Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, to engage with the Alibaba Ecosystem, explore partnerships, and learn about China's economic growth.
Chebet Lesan, founder and chief executive officer of BrightGreen Energy and a past winner of the ABH prize competition, said the ABH provided her with the seed capital, skills, and exposure she needed to fuel the growth of her green startup. ■