In line with Higherlife Foundation’s commitment to promoting African entrepreneurship, our Co-Founder Strive Masiyiwa was one of four judges this month at the first annual Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) that saw $1 million in prize money awarded to 10 African entrepreneurs.
A flagship initiative of the Jack Ma Foundation, the prize aims to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are leveraging technology to build a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future.
Competition for the prize was stiff, with nearly 10,000 entrepreneurs from 50 countries across the continent participating.The finale event, called “Africa’s Business Heroes,” took place in Accra, Ghana, where the top 10 finalists pitched their businesses directly to four prestigious judges including Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation; Strive Masiyiwa, founder and executive chairman of Econet Group and co-founder of Higherlife Foundation; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and founder/CEO of The Chair Centre Group; and Joe Tsai, executive vice chairman of Alibaba.
The top three finalists were: Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder and CEO, LifeBank (Nigeria) – first Place, winning $250,000; Dr. Omar Sakr, founder and CEO, Nawah-Scientific (Egypt) – second place, winning $150,000; and Christelle Kwizera, founder, Water Access Rwanda (Rwanda) – third Place, winning $100,000.
The first-place winner of the night – Temie Giwa-Tubosun – is the founder and CEO of LifeBank, a Lagos-based blood and oxygen delivery company that connects registered blood banks to hospitals and patients in need of urgent blood supplies.
She remarked: “The Africa Netpreneur Prize will give me the resources to grow LifeBank and expand our presence in Nigeria and throughout the rest of Africa. I look forward to continuing my journey to solve problems and make a significant impact on the future of Africa.”
Higherlife Foundation congratulates all the winners and finalists who are changing the world every day, leveraging technology to create African solutions to African problems, and driving inclusive growth and opportunities across our continent.
Thanks to you, the future of entrepreneurship on the continent remains bright!
