In a new competition supporting FINCA’s comprehensive approach to poverty alleviation, twelve entrepreneurs collectively secured $400,000 in grant funds. These innovators operate across sub-Saharan Africa, enhancing value for local farmers, addressing healthcare market gaps, combating exploitation of female fish traders, among other endeavors.
At the launch of the FINCA Ventures Prize Competition, FINCA President and CEO Andrée Simon highlighted FINCA’s founding principle, which recognized the transformative potential of providing small loans to people in poverty four decades ago. Simon underscored the organization’s commitment to investing in social entrepreneurs with ambitious visions, disruptive business models, and innovative products or technologies aimed at making meaningful impacts for impoverished individuals.
Simon also commended the predominance of female-led startups among the finalists, emphasizing FINCA’s dedication to empowering women entrepreneurs. The competition, held on March 28, 2024, featured rapid-fire pitch presentations by the 12 finalists across four categories, judged by a panel of investors and dignitaries including ambassadors and education attaches from various countries.
The first-place winners in each category—Angela Odero, Ashley Speyer, Naom Monari, and Sona Shah—received $70,000 each for their organizations. Second and third-place winners were awarded $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Ashley Speyer expressed gratitude for the grant, emphasizing its impact on their female-led agribusiness, while Angela Odero praised FINCA’s unique focus on supporting women entrepreneurs, highlighting her own challenges in securing financing as a woman of color.
During the event, Simon and Greta Bull from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stressed the importance of supporting women entrepreneurs, citing the low percentage of venture funding allocated to women-led ventures globally.
Bull urged women entrepreneurs to persist, remain confident, and seek support from like-minded funders, emphasizing the need to overcome barriers preventing women from accessing capital and realizing their innovative ideas.
Recipients of the grants, including Bene Care, Rio Fish, Kazi Yetu, and Neopenda, outlined plans to utilize the funds to expand their impact, improve healthcare access, enhance agricultural practices, and reach new markets.
Second and third-place winners also received awards, with plans to utilize the funds to further their initiatives. The FINCA Ventures Prize Competition was made possible through support from a generous donor.
