Tanzania biotech firm NovFeed wins 7th Africa’s Business Heroes award in start-up bonanza
Record 32,000 applications from 54 nations vie for seventh Africa’s Business Heroes awards to recognise 100 start-ups over 10 years
A microbiologist who revolutionised the production of laboratory-grown seafood protein took home the top prize in the 2025 African Business Heroes awards in Rwanda on Saturday, in the seventh annual edition of the largest event for start-ups of its kind on the continent.
Diana Orembe, the founder of Tanzania-based NovFeed, was the winner out of 10 finalists in the awards, which received up to 32,000 applications from 54 countries. She took home US$300,000 in grant funding.
Abraham Mbuthia of the fintech company Uzapoint took home the second prize with US$250,000 while Adrian Kruger of the cloud-based clininal research company Nuvoteq received US$150,000 of funding. The remaining seven finalists shared a pot of US$800,000 in grants.
“These entrepreneurs are not only innovating and creating jobs within their sectors; but are inspirational examples of resilience and execution,” said Jason Pau, the International Executive Director of the Jack Ma Foundation, during the awards ceremony on Saturday in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
The event, organised by the Jack Ma Foundation since 2019 and supported by Alibaba Philanthropy, aimed to recognise 100 outstanding entrepreneurs over the course of 10 years. Applications came from across 54 African nations, while the finalists were selected from applicants from Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.