{"id":109886,"date":"2025-09-13T06:43:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T06:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m"},"modified":"2025-09-13T06:44:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T06:44:18","slug":"rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m","title":{"rendered":"Rwandan businesswoman among 10 vying for big share of $1.5m"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Diane Mukasahaha, founder and CEO of the textile company DIKAM Ltd, has been named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2025 Africa\u2019s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement on Friday, September 12, followed the Semi-Finals held in Dakar, Senegal, where 20 semi-finalists from across Africa pitched their businesses. The 10 finalists will compete for their share of $1.5 billion at the seventh ABH Grand Finale in Kigali on 12\u201313 December 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Selected from nearly 32,000 applications continent-wide, Mukasahaha is the sixth Rwandan entrepreneur to pass the ABH semi-finals. The Africa Business Heroes is an initiative of Alibaba Philanthropy and the Jack Ma Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>The competition will award a total of US$1.5 million in grant funding, with the Grand Prize winner taking home US$300,000 and other finalists getting at least US$100,000 each, alongside access to mentorship, global networks, and storytelling platforms.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our Top 10 Finalists embody the best of African entrepreneurship, visionary leaders building bold, scalable businesses that create meaningful social and environmental impact,&#8221; said Zahra Baitie-Boateng, the Africa Managing Director of ABH.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are thrilled to see them advance to Kigali for the Grand Finale, where they will not only compete for funding but also inspire millions across the continent with their stories of resilience and innovation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>DIKAM Ltd focuses on empowering women and youth through the textile sector, blending innovation with social impact.<\/p>\n<p>Mukasahaha is an entrepreneur and public health expert whose career spans over 20 years in health systems strengthening, HIV\/AIDS prevention, and palliative care. As Rwanda\u2019s National Coordinator for Palliative Care, she helped make compassionate care, including access to morphine, a core part of the national health system.<\/p>\n<p>Transitioning to business, Mukasahaha founded DIKAM, which produces children\u2019s clothing, school uniforms, corporate wear, and medical scrubs, employing between 200 and 400 people, over 80% of whom are women. The company focuses on economic empowerment through apprenticeships and skills training, particularly for women and teen mothers.<\/p>\n<p>List of all finalists<\/p>\n<p>Wyclife Onyango \u2013 BuuPass (Kenya) \u2013 Transport \/ Digital Ticketing<\/p>\n<p>Siny Samba \u2013 Le Lionceau (Senegal) \u2013 FoodTech \/ Infant Nutrition<\/p>\n<p>Mukasahaha Diane \u2013 DIKAM Ltd (Rwanda) \u2013 Textiles \/ Women &amp; Youth Empowerment<\/p>\n<p>Baraka Chijenga \u2013 Kilimo Fresh Foods Africa Limited (Tanzania) \u2013 AgriTech \/ Food Security<\/p>\n<p>Janet Kuteli \u2013 Fortune Credit Limited (Kenya) \u2013 FinTech \/ Microfinance<\/p>\n<p>Diana Orembe \u2013 NovFeed (Tanzania) \u2013 AgriTech \/ Biotech<\/p>\n<p>Abraham Mbuthia \u2013 Uzapoint Technologies Limited (Kenya) \u2013 SME Tech \/ Digital Tools<\/p>\n<p>Gohar Said\u2013 Suplyd (Egypt) \u2013 FoodTech \/ Supply Chain<\/p>\n<p>Adriaan Kruger \u2013 nuvoteQ (South Africa) \u2013 HealthTech \/ Digital Solutions<\/p>\n<p>Jean Lobe Lobe \u2013 Waspito (Cameroon) \u2013 HealthTech \/ Telemedicine<\/p>\n<p>Previous Rwandan finalists include Albert Munyabugingo, co-founder of delivery company VubaVuba, Francine Munyaneza, founder of solar company Munyax Eco, and Yvette Ishimwe of IRIBA Water Group.<\/p>\n<p>There is also Christelle Kwizera, founder of Access Water Rwanda, and Kevine Kagirimpundu, co-founder of eco-friendly shoe brand UZURI K&amp;Y.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Rwanda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. Diane Mukasahaha, founder and CEO of the textile company DIKAM Ltd, has been named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2025 Africa\u2019s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition. The announcement on Friday, September 12, followed the Semi-Finals held in Dakar, Senegal, where 20 semi-finalists from across Africa pitched their businesses. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":109885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,15],"tags":[8048,4139,1918,758,2487],"class_list":["post-109886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-business-heroes","tag-alibaba-philanthropy","tag-businesses","tag-rwanda","tag-startups"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rwandan businesswoman among 10 vying for big share of $1.5m - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Diane Mukasahaha, founder and CEO of the textile company DIKAM Ltd, has been named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2 ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rwandan businesswoman among 10 vying for big share of $1.5m\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Diane Mukasahaha, founder and CEO of the textile company DIKAM Ltd, has been named one of the top 10 finalists for the 2 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-13T06:43:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-13T06:44:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1757733212.495755.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"557\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Rwandan businesswoman among 10 vying for big share of $1.5m\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-13T06:43:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-13T06:44:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\"},\"wordCount\":465,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/09\/sm_1757733212.495755.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Business Heroes\",\"Alibaba Philanthropy\",\"businesses\",\"Rwanda\",\"Startups\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/economy\/rwandan-businesswoman-among-10-vying-for-big-share-of-1-5m\",\"name\":\"Rwandan businesswoman among 10 vying for big share of $1.5m - 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