Diana Orembe, co-founder of Tanzania-based biotech startup NovFeed, has won the 7th edition of the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, emerging top among a field of entrepreneurs addressing critical challenges across the continent.
Orembe secured the top prize following a strong showing at the ABH Grand Finale held December 12–13 in Kigali, where finalists pitched their business solutions before judges, investors, and a live audience. She was awarded $300,000.
NovFeed converts food waste into affordable, sustainable fish feed, cutting production costs for smallholder fish farmers while improving yields and profitability.
Orembe framed her pitch around lower feed costs, stronger yields, and better margins for farmers.
The model has already boosted incomes for more than 2,000 farmers, positioning biotechnology as a practical response to a key bottleneck in African aquaculture.
Kenyan entrepreneur Abraham Mbuthia, founder and CEO of UzaPoint Technologies, was named first runner-up. His company provides retail infrastructure for small and medium-sized enterprises, serving over 3,500 SMEs and facilitating more than $200 million in transactions. Mbuthia highlighted the importance of building scalable retail systems designed for African markets.
Second runner-up Adriaan Kruger, founder of South Africa’s nuvoteQ, presented a digital approach to clinical trials aimed at enabling global validation while strengthening local healthcare research capacity.
His solution focused on closing gaps in Africa’s clinical research infrastructure through technology-driven systems.
Africa’s Business Heroes is the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic program on the continent, created to identify and support entrepreneurs generating measurable social and economic impact.
Over ten years, the initiative plans to recognize 100 African entrepreneurs through grant funding, training programs, and ecosystem support.
Rwanda hosted the 7th ABH Summit and Grand Finale in partnership with the Jack Ma Foundation.
The Rwanda Development Board congratulated the winners and praised the platform for convening entrepreneurs from across Africa.
