3 Kenyan entrepreneurs eye Sh39 million top prize in pan-African competition

Three Kenyan entrepreneurs, leading companies in the retail, transport, and finance sectors, have been selected as finalists for the Africa’s Business Heroes competition.

Abraham Mbuthia of Uzapoint Technologies, Wyclife Onyango of BuuPass, and Janet Kuteli of Fortune Credit Limited have each secured a minimum of Sh13 million in grant funding.

They are now in contention for the Sh39 million grand prize, which will be awarded in December.

Their businesses offer technology-driven and financial solutions to longstanding challenges within their respective industries.

Uzapoint Technologies, founded by Abraham Mbuthia, provides a mobile Point of Sale (POS) system designed for small and medium-sized businesses.

The system allows merchants to use a smartphone or a dedicated terminal to record sales, manage inventory, and track business expenses digitally.

The product is targeted at the large number of small-scale retailers in Kenya who traditionally rely on manual, paper-based methods for their record-keeping.

By digitising these processes, Uzapoint provides business owners with accurate, real-time data, which can help in identifying sales trends, preventing stock-outs, and reducing potential revenue loss from theft or mismanagement.

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BuuPass, co-founded by Wyclife Onyango, is a digital marketplace that enables users to book long-distance bus and flight tickets online.

The platform aggregates transport operators, allowing customers to search for routes, compare prices, and purchase tickets through a web or mobile application, with payments facilitated via mobile money.

The company addresses inefficiencies in the public transport sector, where ticketing is often a manual, in-person process.

For transport operators, BuuPass provides a backend system to manage their fleet's bookings and sales records.

The company participated in the globally recognised Y Combinator accelerator programme, which provides seed funding and mentorship for startups.

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Fortune Credit Limited, led by Janet Kuteli, is a non-deposit-taking microfinance institution licensed in Kenya.

The company provides credit facilities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals who may have difficulty securing loans from traditional commercial banks.

The organisation's business model is focused on serving a client segment that is often considered underserved, typically due to a lack of conventional collateral or a limited formal credit history.

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Fortune Credit offers various loan products, including those for working capital and asset financing, aimed at enabling small businesses to sustain and grow their operations.

Its operations are centred on increasing financial inclusion for small-scale entrepreneurs.

The three entrepreneurs will present their final business pitches at the competition's grand finale in Kigali, Rwanda.