NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative on Monday unveiled the top 10 finalists of the second annual Africa’s Business Heroes, a competition organized by the Jack Ma Foundation to identify and recognize the continent’s top entrepreneurs.

This year’s finalists were chosen from a pool of over 22,000 applications spanning all 54 African nations and key sectors, including agriculture, fashion, education, financial services, healthcare and renewable energy. The top 10, an even split of female and male entrepreneurs whose average age is 34, represent eight African countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Photo courtesy of Steven Lilley.