ZIMBA WINS US$150K IN AFRICA BUSINESS HEROES AWARDS

(Xinhua) -- A Zimbabwean entrepreneur, Ethel Mupambwa, took the third place at this year's Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) awards, a programme that seeks to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

The programme, which is in its second year, is created by the Jack Ma Foundation's African Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI).

Mupambwa scooped a US$150,000 cash prize from the ANPI after pitching her business idea to a panel of judges during a digital grand finale held on Saturday.

Mupambwa is the co-founder and Executive Director of MoneyMart, a microfinance firm that provides its clients with tailor-made business loans and offers energy solutions to energy-poor households living off the electricity grid in rural areas.

Chebet Lesan, a Kenyan contestant, was named the African Business Hero of the year, and was awarded a 300,000 U.S. dollar cash prize.

The ANPI aims to give African entrepreneurs from various sectors a platform to develop their talent and business ideas.

More than 22,000 people from 54 countries in the continent registered for this year's competition, according the organizers of the event.

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