The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Skin Gourmet Limited, Violet Awo Amoabeng, has indicated that she has Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) to thank for all the lessons she learnt during the ABH programme.
I have learnt a lot from the ABH programme and its worth more than a million dollars”
Amoabeng, who emerged as one of the top 10 entrepreneurs on the continent, spoke to journalists during a local ABH Show viewing dinner party for media and key stakeholders at Skin Gourmet HQ in Ghana to showcase key highlights from last year’s ABH initiative where Ghana was well represented.
The ABH Show viewing dinner party featured last year’s outstanding top 10 African entrepreneurs – including Ghana’s Violet Amoabeng, Founder and CEO, Skin Gourmet, documenting their journey in the ABH initiative where each won a share from a grant of US$1.5 million.
The Africa’s Business Heroes prize competition is one of the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic programs, aimed at supporting and inspiring the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future. Over a ten-year period, ABH will recognize 100 African entrepreneurs and commit to allocating grant funding, training programs, and support for the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Amoabeng recommended and charged Ghanaian entrepreneurs to take advantage of Africa’s ABH programme adding that the competition has overwhelmingly impacted on her business.
I think as any African entrepreneur if you are serious, this is a very serious Programme so make sure that you are part of. It is only for your own good and even if you don’t make it there is so much that you can learn and then prepare for the next one, and make sure that you can make it because they are really trying to help us,” Amoabeng said.
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“This viewing is not to say yeah we are top 10 but also to say thank you to ABH for giving us the opportunity.
There have been challenges but I will say there have been more opportunities. That’s what ABH does. It changes your mindset,” the Skin Gourmet CEO remarked.
Explaining the rationale behind organising the ABH Show Viewing dinner party, Zahra Baitie-Boateng who is the Head of Partnership and Programs at Africa’s Business Heroes said, “the show aims to capture their entrepreneurial journey but most importantly to capture entrepreneurship as a vehicle for change. So it’s meant to be educational but also inspiring.”
Zahra Baitie-Boateng, Head of Partnership and Programs- ABH
She described having a Ghanaian selected as one of the top 10 entrepreneurs on the continent as exciting while stressing that the Jack Ma Foundation is committed to supporting African entrepreneurs through ABH.
The ABH 2021 prize competition received over 12,000 applications across all 54 countries in Africa.
The top ten (50% of which were female) represented seven African countries: Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Their businesses span key industries such as agriculture, beauty, education, energy, food & beverage, logistics, manufacturing, media & entertainment, and retail. 80% of the finalists operate their businesses in rural areas. Through their ventures, these outstanding entrepreneurs are generating positive impact and creating opportunities for their communities.
Every year, entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries apply and finalists are chosen after several rounds of rigorous evaluation conducted by ABH judges. The finalists are selected after demonstrating that they are visionary entrepreneurs who embody innovation, resilience, growth potential and impact on Africa. Each year, ten finalists are selected to compete in the ABH finale pitch competition that is broadcast online and across the continent. The top ten heroes compete for a share of US $1.5 million in grant money.
ABH aims to be as inclusive as possible. Applications are open in English and French to entrepreneurs from all African countries, all sectors, and all ages. In addition to grant money, applicants and finalists are given access to a network of business leaders, VCs and entrepreneurs to leverage the community’s shared expertise and participate in special training programs and bootcamps to help them take their businesses to the next level.
ABH is focused on shining a spotlight on talented entrepreneurs so they have the opportunity to not only showcase their talent and business ideas, but also inspire others across the continent to seek out entrepreneurship as a career.
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