wo Egyptian startups, Suplyd and Poultry Sync, have been selected as Top 20 semi-finalists for the 2025 edition of Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH), the annual pan-African entrepreneurship competition organized by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy. The selection highlights the growing strength of Egypt’s tech-driven SME ecosystem and its rising influence in Africa’s innovation economy.
By the Numbers
The competition is one of the most prestigious in Africa, with a massive prize pool and a highly competitive selection process:
- $1.5 Million: The total prize pool for the competition.
- $300,000: The maximum grant funding a finalist can receive.
- 32,000+ Applicants: The number of applications received from across Africa for this year’s competition.
- 20 Semi-Finalists: The number of companies chosen to pitch at the semi-finals in Dakar, Senegal.
Meet Egypt’s Innovators
The two Egyptian ventures selected for the semi-finals are providing scalable solutions for some of Africa’s most pressing challenges:
- Suplyd: A Cairo-based foodtech platform founded by Gohar Said that is transforming restaurant procurement by streamlining the food supply chain with digital tools and just-in-time inventory solutions.
- Poultry Sync: An agritech startup led by founder Neamat El Tazi that is revolutionizing poultry farming with smart monitoring systems that enhance sustainability and efficiency—critical in a region where food security is a top priority.
A Rigorous Path to the Semi-Finals
The selection of Suplyd and Poultry Sync followed a rigorous process that began with over 32,000 applications. After multiple rounds of interviews and evaluations, only 20 companies were chosen to pitch at the semi-finals on September 10–11 in Dakar, Senegal—the program’s first event in a Francophone country. The high-profile judging panel includes Hasan Haidar, Managing Partner at PlusVC, and Jason Pau, Executive Director at the Jack Ma Foundation.
Source: Arab Founders
