Jack Ma and Jerry Yang are in Kigali for Africa's Business Heroes, Alibaba's flagship initiative supporting African entrepreneurs and job creation.
The seventh edition of Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) Summit opened Friday at the Kigali Convention Centre, bringing together leading innovators, investors, policymakers, and development partners as 10 outstanding entrepreneurs compete for a share of $1.5 million (approximately Rwf 2.2 billion) in grant funding.
The two-day summit, hosted in Kigali for the third consecutive year under the theme 'Defining Africa's Future Today,' celebrates African entrepreneurship and showcases homegrown solutions transforming sectors from agriculture and biotech to fintech, health, and manufacturing.
The programme, founded by Alibaba Philanthropy and inspired by Jack Ma's 2017 visit to Africa, has grown into one of the continent's most influential entrepreneurship competitions.
This year, ABH attracted a record-breaking 32,000 applications from across the continent, with the top 10 finalists now battling for cash prizes that include a $300,000 (Rwf 437 million) grand award, $250,000 (Rwf 364 million) for the first runner-up, $150,000 (Rwf 218 million) for the second runner-up, and $100,000 (Rwf 146 million) for each of the remaining seven finalists.
Since 2019, many Rwandans have emerged as winners in the Alibaba initiative. These successful entrepreneurs include Albert Munyabugingo, founder of Vuba Vuba; Francine Munyaneza, founder of Munyax Eco; Yvette Ishimwe, founder and CEO of IRIBA Water Group; Christelle Kwizera, founder of Water Access Rwanda; and Kevine Kagirimpundu, co-founder and CEO of UZURI K&Y.
The 2025 ABH Grand Finale follows the 7th ABH Semi-Finals, which was held for the first time in Dakar, Senegal, on 10â€"11 September 2025.
Winners will be announced on Saturday, December 13.
IGIHE
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/president-kagame-meets-with-jack-ma-founder-of-alibaba-group
