Africa’s Business Heroes Announces Top 20 Entrepreneurs Advancing to 2026 Semi-Final in Nairobi

The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition has announced the 20 entrepreneurs who will advance to its 2026 Semi-Final in Nairobi, Kenya, scheduled for 21–22 August. The Top 20 were chosen from an expanded Top 100 cohort that was drawn from more than 24,000 applications across all 54 African countries. Candidates progressed through three-person judging-panel interviews, on-the-ground site visits and comprehensive due diligence conducted by PlusVC. The cohort represents 12 African countries, spans 11 sectors, includes eight women entrepreneurs (40% of the cohort) and collectively generated approximately US$85 million in 2025.

"Site visits reveal the people and purpose behind the businesses," the programme said, highlighting the role of in-person assessment in evaluating leadership, innovation, impact, scalability and commercial strength.

ABH’s selection process combined interview panels with field verification: teams visited every company advancing to the Semi-Final to test written applications against operations, teams and communities. That approach was designed to identify entrepreneurs with operational depth, community legitimacy and resilience, the organisers said. The 20 entrepreneurs will now compete for 10 places in the ABH Semi-Final, where they will pitch before business, investment and entrepreneurial leaders.

Top 20 entrepreneurs advancing to the 2026 Semi-Final

• Farah Emara — FreshSource (Egypt) — AgriTech
• Nour El-Assal — Tagaddod (Egypt) — Renewable Energy
• Salma Tammam — REME-D (Egypt) — Healthcare
• Ahmed Shaaban — Simplex (Egypt) — Manufacturing
• Affiong Williams — Reelfruit (Nigeria) — Manufacturing
• Kelvin Umechukwu — Bumpa (Nigeria) — Enterprise / SaaS
• Ikechukwu Anoke — Zuri Health Ltd (Kenya) — HealthTech
• Naom Monari — Bena Care Limited (Kenya) — HealthTech
• Joseph Mungai — AceleAfrica Limited (Kenya) — Energy
• Louisa Gathecha — Bottle Logistics East Africa Ltd (Kenya) — Industrial (ClimateTech)
• Meriem Benabad — Z.6 or Z.SYS INC (Morocco) — Retail (FMCG) – Marketplace
• Nidal Tafah — MIRRIAH (Morocco) — AgriTech
• Samson Fentaye — Thur Biotech Manufacturing Plc (Ethiopia) — Agritech
• Jess Roussos — BluLever Education Pty Ltd (South Africa) — EdTech
• David Kamugundu — eFiche Ltd (Rwanda) — HealthTech
• Joseph Paul — Dawa Mkononi (Tanzania) — HealthTech
• Gildas Zodome — Bio Phyto (Benin) — Agritech
• Appessika Adanin Laurent Koffi — Green Agro Valley (Côte d’Ivoire) — Agritech
• Hagasata Rakotoson — Solidis S.A (Madagascar) — FinTech
• Rodney Kofi Kyei — Crux Global Limited (Ghana) — Media and Entertainment

The Semi-Final judging panel brings investor, operator and alumni perspectives. Judges named for the event include Kome Oruade-Etim, Global Program Manager for Acumen Angels and former West Africa Lead for Acumen Academy; Wandia Gichuru, Co-founder and CEO of Vivo Fashion Group; Thomas Njeru, Co-founder and CEO of Pula Advisors and a 2023 ABH Top Three finalist; and Jason Pau, Executive Director (International) at the Jack Ma Foundation, who has co‑founded and led the ABH programme for the past seven years.

Beyond the competition stage, ABH will run its second Hangzhou learning and market-access trip in China from 14–18 September. Approximately 40 participants from more than 10 African countries are expected to join, including primarily 2024 and 2025 Top 10 Heroes, other alumni, selected entrepreneurs, judges and participants from the Alibaba Digital Lion programme. Organisers say the trip aims to provide learning, market access and peer exchange to extend the programme's impact.

Organisers also signalled a broader ambition for the Nairobi Semi-Final: the event will welcome a larger investor audience this year, positioning the two days of live pitches as both a competition and a marketplace where investable African businesses can meet funders and strategic partners. Entrepreneurs and investors interested in attending are able to register for the 2026 ABH Semi-Final.