Kigali, Rwanda – Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH), the flagship philanthropic initiative of the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, has named its 2026 Top 100 entrepreneurs, chosen from more than 24,000 applications submitted across all 54 African countries.
The announcement was made in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday, and marks the first time in the competition’s history that the first round of finalists has been expanded from a Top 50 to a Top 100 cohort. The move is designed to create greater visibility and opportunity for entrepreneurs across regions, sectors and business models as ABH approaches its 10-year milestone.
The 2026 Top 100 represents entrepreneurs from 27 countries, with an average founder age of 38 and an average business age of 6.5 years. Half of the cohort are returning applicants. Women represented the highest share of entries since the competition launched in 2019, and participation increased from emerging startup hubs including Angola, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Madagascar and Mozambique. 
Collectively, the Top 100 businesses generated USD170 million in revenue in 2025, employed 6,200 people and served 10 million customers. The leading sectors in the cohort are agriculture with 21 entrepreneurs, financial services with 12, manufacturing and healthcare with 10 each, and energy with nine.
Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya lead by country representation with 15 entrepreneurs each, followed by Rwanda with nine and South Africa with six. Women founders account for 33% of the cohort, with men making up the remaining 67%. Francophone representation stands at 13%.
Thirty-two of the Top 100 are integrating artificial intelligence across 12 African countries to address market challenges in agriculture, credit access, education, healthcare and logistics.
ABH Managing Director for Africa, Zahra Baitie-Boateng, said the expansion reflected the growing maturity of entrepreneurship on the continent.
“The 2026 cohort tells an important story: African entrepreneurship is becoming broader, deeper, and more commercially mature. These are not just promising ideas; they are real businesses operating across 27 countries, generating USD 170 million in annual revenue, employing 6,200 people, and serving 10 million customers. We are seeing strong innovation from established hubs as well as from emerging ecosystems that have often been underrepresented. By expanding the cohort, ABH is creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs to access visibility, recognition, community, and long-term support.”
Round 1 Judge Johan de Visser, Regional Manager for Africa at PUM and founder of Africa Business Coaching, said the quality of this year’s applications stood out.
“What stood out was the level of innovation, clarity of vision, and deep understanding of local market challenges from founders across the continent. The Top 100 includes businesses that are already serving customers, creating jobs, and building scalable solutions across critical sectors, from agriculture and financial services to healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and climate.”
The Top 100 will now be evaluated to determine the Top 20 semi-finalists. The Top 20 will pitch live on 21 and 22 August in Nairobi, Kenya, competing for a place in the Top 10 and a share of a USD1.5 million grant prize.
Since its launch in 2019, ABH has directly awarded 70 entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship and global exposure, supported more than 5,000 entrepreneurs through programmes including ABH ScaleUp, and attracted more than 160,000 applicants to date.
