Africa's Business Heroes Prize

The Jack Ma Foundation's annual prize for African entrepreneurs. Ten finalists share $1.5M in grant funding and get training and mentorship. Open to any sector.

Key terms

• Open to entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, any age or sector
• Business must be at least 3 years old (registration certificate or proof of operation)
• Founder video required (English or French)
• The 2026 deadline was 7 May 2026

Eligibility

Where

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, DR Congo, Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Stages

seed, series-a, growth

Needs VC/accelerator backing

No

Needs partner referral code

No

Must be incorporated

No

AI focus required

No

Students / researchers

Not eligible

Nonprofits

Not eligible

Also required

• At least 3 years of operating history

How to apply

Apply online during the annual window, usually in spring. Prepare the founder video, ID and business registration in advance.

Benefit

cash

Equity-free

Yes

Decision time

—

Credit validity

—

Deadline

Annual (2026 closed 2026-05-07; 2027 call expected ~Mar 2027, not yet announced)

Status

Paused — next round TBA

Verified 2026-10-23 · source