Hangzhou, 27 May 2022 (TDI): According to Wu Peng, the Director-General of Chinese MFA’s Department of African Affairs, the 4th Africa’s Business Heroes Competition has recently started. This competition is launched by the Jack Ma Foundation, an agency of Chinese companies.
The 4th #Africa's Business Heroes Competition, launched by #Chinese company, has recently started.
The competition will award $1.5 million to support African entrepreneurs.
Previous winners have achieved tangible results in the area of Internet development, vaccination, etc. pic.twitter.com/eKK9RaOuVN
— 吴鹏 Wu Peng (@WuPeng_MFAChina) May 27, 2022
The event is Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic program in Africa. The competition will award 1.5 million USD to support African entrepreneurs for the winners. Previously, winners of the competition achieved tangible results in various areas including internet development, vaccination, and so on.
An Overview of Africa’s Business Heroes Competition (ABH)
Africa’s Business Heroes Competition (ABH), held by Jack Ma Foundation, is an event that aims to identify, support, and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs. ABH especially looks for African entrepreneurs who contribute to their community by solving the most urgent problem in development. Moreover, ABH also emphasized whether their applicants’ business is inclusive and sustainable enough.
By participating in the competition, candidates not only have opportunities for a great award but also have chances to improve their capacities in business. The competition offers candidates targeted & practical training programs with mentors from business icons. Also, by preparing for the competition, participants will have a professional platform to have insights into their business. Moreover, those excellent entrepreneurs will also enjoy global recognition and exposure from ABH.
With joint efforts from Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Philanthropy, ABH plans to benefit 100 African entrepreneurs in 10 years. Until now, former cohorts have already made impressive progress in the local African society by developing their business.
Chinese Companies in Africa Contribute More than Pure Economic Income
The year 2017 marked a milestone for more than 10,000 Chinese companies in Africa. 90% of those companies are private which is much more than State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). During doing business in Africa, Chinese companies do not only contribute to local GDP and people’s income but also focus on local development.
Nowadays, Chinese companies are paying more and more attention to benefiting local communities while having a business. Companies are working on employing local workers, purchasing local raw materials, building industries with advanced equipment in the local area, offering training programs to local talents, and so on.
Besides, Chinese institutions, chambers, and domestic governments today also highly emphasize corporate social responsibility. The implementation of the “100 Companies in 1000 Villages” initiative is a typical and flagship example. Establishing foundations, donating to local communities, helping with building local infrastructures and other methods are more and more popular among Chinese companies. There is no doubt that Chinese companies have a significant role in strengthening Sino-African cooperation.
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