After a powerful day of pitches and careful judging, the 2025 Africa’s Business Heroes competition has named its Top 3 finalists. These entrepreneurs are not only building strong businesses. They are solving real problems that affect food systems, small businesses and healthcare across the continent. Their work shows what is possible when innovation meets purpose.
From more than 32,000 applications across Africa, three founders stood out for the scale, clarity and impact of their ideas. Diana Orembe of NovFeed was named the overall winner. Abraham Mbuthia of Uzapoint took second place. Adriaan Kruger of nuvoteQ secured third place. Together, they represent the strength and future of African entrepreneurship.
This moment is about celebration. It is also about recognizing how initiatives like Africa’s Business Heroes create opportunities, unlock growth and support founders who are building Africa-focused solutions with global relevance.
Three Winners, One Shared Vision for Impact
The 2025 Africa’s Business Heroes Grand Prize winner is Diana Orembe, co-founder and CEO of NovFeed. Her win is a proud moment for Tanzania and for Africa as a whole. Diana leads a biotech company that turns food waste into fish feed and bio-fertilizers. At the heart of her work is a simple but powerful idea. Waste can become value.
As a microbiologist, Diana uses science to transform rotten fruits and vegetables collected from markets into protein-rich fish feed. Since launching NovFeed, her company has upcycled more than 500 tonnes of food waste and improved incomes for over 2,000 fish farmers across Tanzania. NovFeed’s products are about 30 percent cheaper than imported alternatives and are better for the environment.
Diana’s journey is built on deep experience and strong purpose. Before founding NovFeed, she worked at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, where she gained hands-on knowledge in live microorganisms, insect farming and aquaculture. She has also been involved in global food security initiatives, including the WFP-X Moonshot Launchpad Programme in 2020, where she explored bold ideas for urban food security.
Her work has earned global recognition. Diana is a Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award winner and has led NovFeed to win awards such as the Ocean Exchange Neptune Award, Solve at MIT, the Minderoo Foundation Prize and the Milken Motsepe Prize in Agritech. Through it all, she remains committed to sustainability, the blue economy and building responsible food systems for the future.
Second place was awarded to Abraham Mbuthia, founder of Uzapoint. Abraham is changing how small and medium-sized businesses operate in Kenya and beyond. Through Uzapoint, he provides point-of-sale and business management tools that help SMEs manage inventory, track sales and understand their finances better. His goal is simple. Give small businesses the tools they need to grow and thrive.
Abraham is also the founder of Myzola, a personal financial management platform that helps individuals manage expenses, savings, investments and financial goals. His work sits at the intersection of fintech, business growth and financial inclusion.
Over the years, Abraham has earned strong recognition for his impact. He has been named among the 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans, won Techpreneur of the Year and received support from the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa. In 2023, Uzapoint was selected as one of 40 recipients out of 4,000 applicants, securing up to USD 150,000 in non-dilutive funding to scale its SME solutions across Africa.
Third place went to Adriaan Kruger, co-founder and CEO of nuvoteQ. Adriaan is building critical healthcare infrastructure through technology. His company develops cloud-based software solutions that support clinical trials and meet global regulatory standards set by bodies like the FDA and EMA.
With more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software and clinical data management, Adriaan has led nuvoteQ to modernize how clinical research is conducted. Through platforms like Nukleus and Kronus, and initiatives such as the Clinical Trial Community Platform, he is helping position Africa as a serious player in global clinical research.
Beyond nuvoteQ, Adriaan is also involved in AI consulting through Scigenix.ai and impact work through the nuvoteQ Foundation. He is known as a leader who values teamwork, innovation and purpose, and he continues to advocate for stronger healthcare systems across Africa.
Why Africa’s Business Heroes Matters
Africa’s Business Heroes is more than a competition. It is a platform that identifies, funds and supports entrepreneurs who are solving real-world problems, often with limited resources. The programme offers USD 1.5 million in grant funding, including a top prize of USD 300,000, alongside mentorship, training and global media exposure.
Since launching in 2019, Africa’s Business Heroes has supported 60 entrepreneurs across sectors such as agriculture, health, education, climate tech and fintech. These founders are building businesses that create jobs, improve livelihoods and strengthen communities.
The 2025 Top 3 winners are a clear example of what this initiative stands for. Three founders. Three bold solutions. One shared commitment to impact at scale.
Congratulations to Diana Orembe, Abraham Mbuthia and Adriaan Kruger. Congratulations also to the remaining Top 7 finalists. Reaching this stage already places them among Africa’s leading entrepreneurs. Africa is better because of the businesses that they are building and the future is brighter because of their courage to start.
