After being impressed by Africa’s entrepreneurial potential during his first visit to the continent, Jack Ma, Alibaba Group founder and Executive Chairman through the Alibaba Business School partnered with UNCTAD to launch eFounders Fellowship Initiative, a program aimed at training 1000 entrepreneurs from emerging markets with the purpose of building a community of young entrepreneurs committed to creating digital platforms to build more inclusive economies. The ANPI is a prize competition for African entrepreneurs, founded by the Jack Ma Foundation. For the next ten years, the ANPI will host a pitch competition across Africa culminating in a finale where ten finalists will compete for US$1 million in total prize money.
The Prize aims to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs across all sectors, who are building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future. The regional partners will mobilize aspiring entrepreneurs across the continent through grassroots outreach. The three organizations will work closely with Nailab, the continental and Eastern Africa partner, to promote the Prize in their respective regions.
The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has appointed NINE from Nigeria, RiseUp from Egypt, and 22 On Sloane from South Africa as the official Western, Northern, and Southern Africa regional partners, respectively. Nailab Founder and CEO Sam Gichuru said the new partners will help bring the Prize to all corners of Africa, as well as discover and spotlight a new generation of entrepreneurs from across the continent.
The southern partner, 22 On Sloane, is a legacy project of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Africa (GEN Africa) and home to the largest startup campus on the continent. The organization seeks to nurture the development of new industries by supporting disruptive startups. The northern partner, RiseUp, is the creator and organizer of the MENA region’s largest entrepreneurship event, RiseUp Summit. RiseUp is a platform that connects startups with needed resources from across the continent. The western partner, NINE is Nigeria’s largest network of Incubators supporting the growth of entrepreneurs.
Sam Gichuru agreed to work together with the said partners, he said they will support both technology-driven and traditional companies with a special focus on small businesses, grassroots communities and women-founded enterprises. Graca Machel, Chair of the Graca Machel Trust Board and a member of ANPI advisory board, noted that the regional partners will help support the Prize’s inclusive and community-based approach and praised the Prize’s strong focus on women entrepreneurs. “There are so many undiscovered entrepreneurial heroes, women and men alike, who once unearthed can become game-changers of the African entrepreneurship landscape. I am happy the Africa Netpreneur Prize has decided to make women a priority.”
GEN Africa Chairperson Kizito Okechukwu said, “We look forward to supporting the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative in its mission to empower entrepreneurs from Africa. 22 On Sloane has received support from world leaders and a network of more than 15,000 partner organizations which has enabled us to catapult the growth of many businesses, and is indicative of the strong entrepreneurial potential we have across the continent to thrive globally,” ANPI will officially call for applications starting from the 27th of March to the 30th of June 2019.
All ten finalists will receive grant funding from the Jack Ma Foundation, as well as access to the Netpreneur community of African business leaders to leverage the community’s shared expertise, best practices, and resources.