NAIROBI, August 20, 2026 — Judges at the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) 2026 Semi-Final have challenged the Top 20 entrepreneurs to demonstrate strong business fundamentals, measurable impact, resilience and the ability to scale as they compete for 10 places in the next stage of the competition.
The two-day Semi-Final, being held in Nairobi from August 21–22, brings together entrepreneurs selected from more than 24,000 applications received from all 54 African countries. The Top 20 represent 12 countries and 11 sectors, with their businesses collectively generating approximately US$85 million in revenue in 2025.
Speaking during a press conference ahead of the Semi-Final, Kome Oruade-Etim, Global Programme Manager for Acumen Angels and one of the judges, said the panel would assess the scale of the problems being addressed alongside the commercial strength, sustainability and potential of the businesses to grow.
“When I’m looking at a business, it’s not the impact relative to their own vision as a company, but what is the mark that they can actually make relative to the size of the problem. There is an urgency to close those gaps, whether in energy, education or agriculture,” Oruade-Etim said.
She said the entrepreneurs would also need to demonstrate sound business fundamentals and show that their solutions are addressing problems that people genuinely need solved.
“Impact matters to us, but the fundamentals of the business also matter. We want to understand the problems that you are solving, whether people need and actually value the solution, and whether you understand your unit economics,” she said.
Oruade-Etim said entrepreneurs should also have a clear understanding of the end goal of their businesses and demonstrate how partnerships, including with governments and other institutions, could help their solutions achieve greater scale.
Wandia Gichuru, Co-Founder and CEO of Vivo Fashion Group and a Semi-Final judge, said the entrepreneurs should approach the pitch with confidence, honesty and authenticity, noting that the question-and-answer session would be particularly important.
“The pitch is very short, but the real meat is in the questions. What we will all be looking for is the way that conversation happens, how you listen to the questions and how you answer them,” wandia said.
She encouraged the finalists to remain true to themselves, noting that reaching the Top 20 from more than 24,000 applicants was already a significant achievement.
Wandia also urged the entrepreneurs to demonstrate how their businesses can create opportunities for others as they grow, saying successful enterprises should have an impact beyond their immediate operations.
Among the Top 20 is Jess Roussos, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of South Africa-based BluLever Education, a company that provides technical and vocational training linked closely to industry needs.
Roussos said BluLever combines accredited technical training with soft skills and business skills after research showed that employers value teamwork, communication and problem-solving alongside technical competence.
“We don’t only focus on the technical, but on so much more than that,” she said, adding that the company continuously works with industry to understand what employers need and updates its curriculum accordingly.
Roussos said traditional technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems face structural challenges, including a focus on enrolment numbers rather than the quality of training and limited relationships between colleges and employers.
“The biggest reasons are a couple of things. Firstly, the way that the system is set up, the incentives within the system are not correct. TVET colleges are incentivised on numbers and not quality,” she said.
She added that BluLever considers employers its customers because they determine the skills required in the workplace.
“Our employers are our customers. Our young people are not our customers; they are our product, in actual fact. We work very closely with employers as partners to continuously understand their needs,” Roussos said.
Roussos said BluLever, which started in Johannesburg with a campus focused on plumbing, has expanded into automotive, electrical and solar trades.
The company plans to open a new campus in Cape Town this year and is exploring a third campus in Nairobi, where it is assessing demand and engaging potential employers.
Another Top 20 entrepreneur, Joseph Paul of Tanzania-based Dawa Mkononi, said his HealthTech company is using technology to improve access to medicines for hospitals, pharmacies and communities.
“We want to create a platform where hospitals, pharmacies and other places can download applications so that they can get the drugs they need in their homes,” Paul said.
He said Dawa Mkononi plans to expand into Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and Ethiopia while continuing to promote digital literacy to help communities use mobile phones and digital applications effectively.
The Semi-Final will culminate in the selection of 10 entrepreneurs who will advance to the next stage, with the eventual finalists expected to compete at the ABH Grand Finale in Kigali, Rwanda, in December.
Beyond the competition, the Nairobi event is expected to connect entrepreneurs with investors, business leaders, universities and other ecosystem partners, creating opportunities for access to capital, markets and strategic partnerships.
