How Africa’s Business Heroes’ $1.5m grant is scaling continental solutions

The seventh edition of the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Summit, held in Kigali, Rwanda, on December 12-13, marked another milestone for the continent’s entrepreneurial landscape. The grand finale celebrated the remarkable achievements of the 2025 Top 10 Heroes. The event highlighted how African founders are building scalable solutions to address systemic challenges, supported by a long-term network that provides more than just capital.

Out of 32,000 applicants, ten finalists emerged to represent seven African countries and seven sectors, including healthcare, fintech, agritech, and logistics, reflecting diverse initiatives focused on both digital transformation and social impact.

How Africa’s Business Heroes’ $1.5m grant is scaling continental solutions

Over seven years, ABH has funded 70 entrepreneurs and supported thousands more through training, mentorship, and ecosystem partnerships. Since its inception in 2019, over 160,000 entrepreneurs have applied from across all 54 African countries, underscoring ABH’s continental reach and credibility.

A $1.5 million grant was awarded to ventures to tackle Africa’s most pressing issues. At the Kigali finale, the top three positions were awarded to founders whose businesses exemplify structural innovation:

Grand Prize ($300,000): Diana Orembe of NovFeed (Tanzania), whose biotech startup transforms agricultural waste into sustainable, affordable fish feed and biofertilizers, reducing feed costs by up to 40%.
Second Place ($250,000): Abraham Mbuthia of Uzapoint (Kenya). Uzapoint equips SMEs with digital tools and embedded financing to transform manual processes into intelligent systems.
Third Place ($150,000): Adriaan Kruger of nuvoteQ (South Africa). A health technology company, nuvoteQ develops digital solutions to strengthen medical research and healthcare data management.

The remaining seven finalists each received $100,000, acknowledging their role in driving a better quality of life for Africans and economic growth across the continent.

Entrepreneurship as a structural reset

The ABH program considers entrepreneurship not merely for business growth, but as a driver of structural solutions. The 2025 cohort demonstrates a shift towards impact-driven models that tackle food security, financial inclusion, and environmental sustainability.

Strengthening food ecosystems: In Egypt, Gohar Said’s Suplyd is building a digital backbone for restaurant supply chains to help small businesses save costs. Similarly, Kilimo Fresh in Tanzania, led by Baraka Chijenga, reduces post-harvest losses by 40% through digital logistics.

Advancing healthcare access: Jean Lobe Lobe’s Waspito in Cameroon has reached 850,000 mobile users, providing a one-stop social healthcare network for consultations and lab requests.
Driving financial and social inclusion: Janet Kuteli’s Fortune Credit empowers over 30,000 active clients in Kenya—60% of whom are rural women—with collateral-free loans. In Rwanda, Mukasahaha Diane’s DIKAM pioneers large-scale garment production, training 521 people to date to reduce import reliance.

Beyond the grant, the ABH programme provides leverage for builders within the African startup ecosystem. The 2025 finalists received direct coaching from seasoned mentors such as Ibukun Awosika and Jerry Yang.

Pitching before a live audience of over 1,000 investors, policy-makers, and media, the Heroes gained global visibility crucial for expansion.

For our Heroes, the journey does not end with the competition. Through the ABH alumni network, founders gain a strong community and continued visibility as they scale—often using the platform as a springboard into new markets. For example, BuuPass (Kenya), led by 2025 Top 10 Hero Wyclife Omondi, which enables users to book bus and train tickets via mobile, plans to leverage this momentum to expand its digital ticketing platform across new African markets, positioning itself as a pan-African mobility solution.

The trajectory of our alumni further underscores this continued growth. In 2021, Charlot Magayi, Founder and CEO of Mukuru Clean Stoves and an ABH Top 10 Hero, went on to win the prestigious Earthshot Prize in 2022. Thomas Njeru, the 1st Runner-Up in 2023, was named to the TIME 100 Next (2024) list for his Nairobi-based microinsurance venture. Meanwhile, Yvette Ishimwe, an ABH Top 10 Hero in 2021, was selected as a finalist for the Zayed Sustainability Prize (2026).

These post-prize achievements reflect not only the calibre of Africa’s Business Heroes but also the strength, credibility, and ongoing support of the ABH community that continues to champion their growth long after the spotlight of the competition fades.