Our finalists have used the funds to expand their teams, invest in technology and machinery, and to expand their footprint locally and internationally.
For example, our 2019 Grand Prize winner – Temie Giwa-Tubuson - has leveraged the grant funds to expand Lifebank across Nigeria and launch in Kenya.
In addition, due to the exposure from the competition, some of our finalists have gone on to secure investment due to the exposure they received, attract top talent, and engage with their country's senior leadership.
For example, thanks to the publicity received through the competition, Omar Sakr 2019 first runner-up raised $1 million in investment.
Some finalists have also used the feedback they gained during the competition to pivot their business models.
For example, following the feedback from the finale judges, Moulaye Taboure 2019 Top 10 hero raised a $6.2 million pre-Series A round while rebranding his company Afrikrea to ANKA. The investment has helped him build out a SaaS mobile infrastructure and further product development. ANKA also plans to hire talent across tech, finance, sales, and marketing to join its 30-person team across four continents.
Lastly, some of our finalists have entered into new partnerships since the competition.
Oghenetega Iortim, 2021 Top 10 hero, recently partnered with HaulTrac one of Nigeria’s leading logistics companies, to support the delivery of essential healthcare commodities to all 36 states of the country for USAID. The partnership is an indefinite quantity agreement that includes the delivery of commodities such as medicines, rapid diagnostic test kits, laboratory reagents and consumables.
You can learn more about our past Top 10 Heroes
here.
You can watch the Post-Prize stories of two of our finalists here:
Mahmud Johnson’s Heroes Diary
Christelle Kwizera’s Heroes Diary