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Four Nigerians Make Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative Top 10 Finalists List
The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) has identified the top 10 finalists for its grand finale event taking place in Accra, Ghana on 16 November 2019. Among them are four Nigerian netpreneurs.
The finalists were chosen from nearly 10,000 applicants from 50 African countries. After months of judging and deliberation, the finalists were shortlisted and will now go on to pitch their business directly to four finale judges – Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation; Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria and Founder/CEO of The Chair Centre Group; and Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba Group – during a televised finale event called “Africa’s Business Heroes”. The winners will receive a share of the $1 million USD grant prize pool.
The Jack Ma Foundation will host a full-day Africa Netpreneur Summit, an invitation-only conference where African and global entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and leaders will convene to discuss how best to enable entrepreneurship and the digital economy across the continent. Guest speakers at the conference will include Ban Ki-moon, Former UN Secretary General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. The conference will be followed by the “Africa’s Business Heroes” event in the evening.
“We launched the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative to identify top entrepreneurs from across the continent, not only to reward them but to inspire a whole new generation of potential gamechangers for Africa. I have been inspired by the entrepreneurs I met in Africa, many of whom are dealing with the same challenges we faced when we started Alibaba years ago. I truly believe the potential of Africa’s business heroes is limitless,” said Jack Ma, Founder of Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation.
“Africa’s Business Heroes” will air on November 29. More details of how to tune in to the program will be released in the coming weeks. Highlights from the Africa Netpreneur Summit will also be shared via ANPI social media handles. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The diverse group of 10 finalists represent a range of industries and experience.
The finalists: Waleed Abd El Rahman, CEO, Mumm (Egypt)
Mumm is a virtual cafeteria for businesses, harnessing the power of shared economy through technology, cloud kitchens and an online marketplace for home-based entrepreneurial cooks. Waleed is a seasoned entrepreneur with 12+ years in food tech. He is also the former founding managing director of MIT Technology Review-Middle East and a member of the Advisory Committee of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
Ayodeji Arikawe, co-founder, Thrive Agric (Nigeria)
Thrive Agric is an agricultural technology-enabled company that works with smallholder farmers to enable them with greater access to finance, as well as improve their income and harvest distribution. Today, Thrive Agric works with 22,000 farmers in Nigeria, but the company is aiming to build the largest network of farmers in Africa. They are on a mission to “build an Africa that feeds the world and Itself.” Ayodeji is an accomplished software engineer and serves as both co-founder and CTO for Thrive Agric.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder and CEO, LifeBank (Nigeria)
LifeBank is a medical distribution company that uses data and technology to help health workers discover critical medical products. The company has saved over 5,300 lives in Nigeria. Founder Temie has over 10 years of health-management experience with Department for International Development, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and Lagos State. In 2014, BBC listed her as one of the 100 women changing the world. She was also recognized by Quartz and the World Economic Forum.
Mahmud Johnson, founder and CEO, J-Palm (Liberia)
J-Palm Liberia (JPL) was founded with the goal of making premium consumer goods while creating income-earning and employment opportunities through sustainable palm-oil production. When JPL was first founded, palm oil kernels had been going to waste in Liberia, but founder and CEO Mahmud Johnson found a way to innovate productive uses for this overlooked natural resource.
Today, JPL has created a range of beauty and clean-energy products, built a robust network of partnerships across the country, and helped to create jobs for hundreds of Liberians. Mahmud holds a degree in economics from Dartmouth College and is a 2017 recipient of the Order of the Star of Africa conferred by the President of Liberia.
Kevine Kagirimpundu, co-founder and CEO, UZURI K&Y (Rwanda)
UZURI K&Y is an African-inspired ecofriendly shoe brand established in Rwanda. Kevine is the co-founder and CEO of UZURI K&Y, and she is passionate about ending global waste while also leveraging her creativity to create employment opportunities for her community.
UZURI has made a direct impact on more than 750 people through employment and skills training. In addition to obtaining her degree in creative design, she has participated in numerous entrepreneurship programs to enhance her skills in business development. In 2017, she was recognized as the winner of the Made in Rwanda Enterprise of the Year.
Christelle Kwizera, founder, Water Access Rwanda (Rwanda)
Water Access Rwanda pioneered INUMA™️, a Safe Water Microgrid that reclaims broken boreholes and transforms them into state-of-the-art solar-powered water kiosks and pipelines. The water is sold for $1/1000 litre and creates off-farm jobs for youth.
Currently, Water Access Rwanda employs 68 people, and allows 47,612 customers to access water daily across 86 stations. Christelle is a mechanical engineer and was named INCO’s woman entrepreneur of the year in 2019, among other high-profile awards.
Dr. Tosan J. Mogbeyiteren, founder, Black Swan (Nigeria)
WeMUNIZE by Black Swan Tech Ltd is helping to solve Nigeria’s public-health challenges by deploying an automated scheduling, GPS-enabled software-as-a-service that uses a combination of digital record keeping and community engagement to increase birth registration and early childhood immunizations.
Black Swan is working with USAID Nigeria to expand WeMUNIZE coverage in northern Nigeria. Tosan is a public-health specialist with more than 13 years of experience in deploying technology to solve development challenges in Nigeria.
Chibuzo Opara, co-founder, DrugStoc (Nigeria)
DrugStoc is a cloud-based pharmaceutical IT and logistics platform focused on eliminating counterfeit drugs, expanding access to pharmaceutical products and improving transparency in pricing for healthcare providers and the product supply chain. Chibuzo is a health economist and medical doctor with over 12 years of experience in the health sector. He has worked with the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation.
Dr. Omar Sakr, founder and CEO, Nawah-Scientific (Egypt)
Nawah-Scientific is the first private research center in the MENA region focused on natural and biomedical sciences that offers analytical and scientific services online and on-demand. Dr. Sakr has 13 years of pharmaceutical experience, has worked as an adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Zewail City of Science and Technology, and holds scientific and business awards for innovative product design.
Moulaye Taboure, co-founder and CEO, Afrikrea (Cote D’Ivoire)
Afrikrea.com is the leading “Made of Africa” fashion, art and handicraft online marketplace. The marketplace has processed more than $4 million in sales across 101 countries and supports merchants from all over the world. After growing up in Mali and working for companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Alstom, Moulaye now dedicates his time to building the global infrastructure for African culture.
AfricAI and Micropolis Robotics have signed a multi-year exclusive distribution and deployment agreement, which marks one of the continent’s most significant robotics market entries.
Micropolis AI Robotics is a United Arab Emirates-based robotics manufacturer operating in autonomous systems, while AfricAI is a company building practical, revenue-driven artificial intelligence (AI) systems for African businesses, governments, and global partners operating in emerging markets.
According to the agreement, Micropolis Robotics named AfricAI as its exclusive continental partner, prohibiting direct sales, alternative distributors, and third-party agents from operating in the territory.
The partnership establishes AfricAI as the primary execution, localisation, and go-to-market platform for intelligent robotics in Africa’s industrial, security, logistics, and infrastructure sectors.
AfricAI said this exclusive mandate positions the company as the gateway for advanced autonomous systems entering African markets, ensuring regulatory compliance, local capacity building, and sovereign control over deployment frameworks.
The partnership, according to the two parties, moves beyond software- based AI into the realm of physical AI — intelligent machines capable of operating in complex, real-world African environments.
“This is not a collaboration, it is a market-shaping mandate,” said Fareed Aljawhari, CEO of Micropolis Robotics. “AfricAI now represents the exclusive gateway through which Micropolis technologies enter Africa. Their sovereign AI vision, operational reach, and regulatory fluency make them the only partner capable of executing at a continental scale.
Furthermore, the agreement enables AfricAI to integrate Micropolis’ autonomous robotics systems with AfricAI’s sovereign AI stack, resulting in AI-powered security and surveillance platforms, robotics-enabled logistics and port operations, industrial automation, smart infrastructure, and municipal robotics tailored to African operating conditions.
Initial deployments will commence in security, smart infrastructure, and logistics, with phased expansion across multiple African states as part of AfricAI’s broader continental AI, data, and intelligent infrastructure strategy.
The agreement also includes long-term performance-linked expansion rights, automatic renewals, and a defined localisation framework to support robotics deployment, workforce training, and skills transfer across Africa.
Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim, executive chairman of AfricAI, said: “Africa does not need imported automation — it needs sovereign, context-aware intelligent systems. This exclusive mandate allows AfricAI to industrialise robotics deployment at scale while retaining control, compliance, and value creation on the continent.”
Lagos State Internal Revenue Service Executive Chairman Ayodele Subair Tuesday demolished online panic over alleged bank account raids, insisting the agency’s “Power of Substitution” targets only hardcore tax dodgers who have exhausted every appeal from tribunals to the Supreme Court over half a decade of disputes.
Ayodele Subair
Subair, speaking on Arise TV, shredded viral fears that LIRS would swoop on residents’ savings without warning, clarifying the mechanism under Section 60 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 kicks in solely after assessments spark objections, reconciliations, demand notices, and a gruelling courtroom odyssey through High Court, Court of Appeal, and apex rulings.
The LIRS weekend notice had ignited fury by announcing enforcement via third parties – banks, employers, tenants, debtors – to claw back unpaid Personal Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Stamp Duties, and Withholding Tax from chronic defaulters holding funds or owing money to them, whether due now or accruing later.
Subair likened the process to a “long timeframe, not less than five years,” where recalcitrant bigwigs who stonewall every step become fair game, with LIRS directing agents like customers or partners to divert payments straight to the taxman in lawful settlement.
Far from arbitrary grabs, the chairman stressed it’s a final resort for “entirely recalcitrant” holdouts who ignore Notice of Refusal to Amend (NORA) and every olive branch, ensuring Lagos coffers snag rightful revenue fuelling the state’s bulging budget without shotgun raids on compliant payers.
As social media buzzes with defiance – “They can’t touch my account!” – Subair’s blueprint spotlights Nigeria’s tax evasion scourge starving subnationals of trillions yearly, with Lagos alone chasing billions in arrears amid federal revenue wars and economic headwinds squeezing the commercial capital’s 25 million souls.
Industry voices nod to the legality but plead for digital dashboards tracking disputes transparently, warning overzealous recovery could spook investors in Africa’s fintech and startup mecca already reeling from naira nosedives and grid glitches.
With LIRS poised to unleash the hammer on vetted violators, Subair’s clarion call aims to separate myth from muscle, bolstering Lagos’ IGR juggernaut that hit N815 billion last year while daring defaulters to test the full judicial gauntlet before crying foul.
Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Ltd, in a strategic move to modernise its operations and foster a results-oriented workforce, has officially adopted the Federal Government’s Performance Management System (PMS).
The initiative, aimed at driving efficiency and institutionalising accountability, was marked by an intensive staff training program designed to align the agency’s operations with national performance goals and the Presidency’s vision for a digital-first public sector.
According to a statement from Stephen Kwande, the Agency’s acting head of Corporate Affairs, “the transition to PMS is a departure from historical evaluation methods. The new system is designed to provide real-time performance tracking and instill a stronger work ethic across all directorates”.
Welcoming participants, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, managing director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT, represented by Abiodun Attah, executive diirector, Technical Services, described the adoption as “long overdue.”
She emphasised that the system is critical for ensuring that NIGCOMSAT contributes effectively to Nigeria’s broader digital economy targets.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Chinwe Udogu, general manager, Human Resources Management, expressed NIGCOMSAT’s enthusiasm for the program, urging staff to dedicate themselves fully to the three-day training.
She noted that the exercise was pivotal in repositioning the company to achieve its highest aspirations.
The training consultant, Mrs. Njoku Chioma, said the program is expected to drive culture change, automate work processes, and strengthen institutional performance.
The three-day training, jointly organised by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation and NIGCOMSAT Management, covers key themes including:
• Overview of the FCSSI25 as an institutional performance-driven Federal Civil/Public Service
• Service culture and workplace attitude in the Nigerian public sector
• Implementation of the Performance Management System in NIGCOMSAT
• Application of Artificial Intelligence tools to enhance performance in the Nigerian public sector
The move comes at a time when NIGCOMSAT is expanding its footprint, with recent initiatives like the 2026 SpaceTech Accelerator Programme and partnerships for grassroots digital skills training.
By strengthening its internal management framework, the agency aims to ensure that its technical advancements in satellite technology are matched by an equally efficient administrative engine.
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