At the Youth Connekt Africa summit held in Kigali in 2017, Jack Ma, a leading figure in the Chinese internet industry, announced the creation of a $10 million fund to support African entrepreneurship and economic development on the continent.
Managed by the Jack Ma Foundation, this fund aims to offer around 100 young African entrepreneurs opportunities to start businesses in the digital sector. Young candidates with promising projects will be selected through an annual competition called The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, organized by the foundation. The competition will be held every year for a period of 10 years. Each year, a prize of $1 million will be awarded to the 10 candidates who qualify for the final. At the end of the competition, the candidates will join a club of young entrepreneurs where they will share their experiences.
The first competition will be held in November 2019. Registration will begin on March 27.