African start-ups get US$1 million boost from Jack Ma’s Netpreneur Prize
- First grants awarded from Alibaba founder’s US$10 million decade-long fund to identify Africa’s most promising young entrepreneurs
- ‘Africa today is like China 20 years ago. Because we had nothing. That is the opportunity’
Ten young African entrepreneurs have shared US$1 million worth of grants, in the first payout from Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma’s decade-long investment in the region’s start-ups.
Top honour, worth US$250,000, in the Africa Netpreneur Prize went to Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder and CEO of LifeBank Nigeria, a health care technology and logistics company based in Lagos. Second and third prizewinners took home US$150,000 and US$100,000 respectively, while the remaining seven entrepreneurs each received US$65,000 in grants.
Ma set up a US$10 million prize fund in 2018 with a pledge to build a community of 100 young African entrepreneurs over a decade, with 10 “business heroes” chosen each year, as part of his effort to identify start-ups in the region with the potential to become the next Alibaba or Google.
On Saturday, he was in Ghana to present the awards in a packed hall at the Accra International Conference Centre. Also present were Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
It was Ma’s fourth visit to Africa and each time, he said, the most impressive people he met were young entrepreneurs, whom he called the future hope for their economies.
“I love their smiles, from their faces you see energy and confidence for the future. Young people are the hope of Africa. That’s why we decided to start this Netpreneur Prize award,” he said. “Entrepreneurs always challenge things that other people don’t believe will work.”
In addition to the prize ceremony, Ma shared his experiences with the audience on what it took to build the world’s largest retailer.
Alibaba’s Jack Ma hopes to empower entrepreneurs in Africa
“Most people see Africa today, they say there is no e-commerce, no logistics, no payment. To me, it is so similar … Africa today is like China 20 years ago. Because we had nothing. That is the opportunity,” said Ma, who currently serves as special adviser for young entrepreneurs and small business on the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
He said Africa’s future growth lay with the entrepreneurs who could find solutions to the continent’s pressing needs.
“If Africa wants to develop, solve its problems and have sustainable growth, the most important thing is that we need entrepreneurs to join forces.”
Ma said he loved to see young entrepreneurs in Africa who wanted to solve problems in their communities, and reiterated the “four Es” which were “extremely important” for the future of Africa: education, e-government, e-infrastructure, and entrepreneurship.
“Africa never lacks talent, resources and opportunities. What we need today is a crop of people to explore, to try and to innovate.”
Ma, 55, stepped down as Alibaba chairman on his birthday in September to devote more time and energy to his philanthropic activities, especially in education. He handed over the position to CEO Daniel Zhang but will remain on the Alibaba board of directors until the 2020 annual shareholders meeting. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
President Akufo-Addo said Ma was an iconic figure, and that successful economies depended largely on entrepreneurs running successful businesses.
“There is no greater symbol of entrepreneurship in the 21st century than this iconic Chinese entrepreneur visiting our country, easily the equal of the celebrated entrepreneurs of our generation: Bill Gates, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Aliko Dangote,” he said.
