
Ethiopian Business Review | EBR

Ethiopian Entrepreneur Samson Alemu Advances to Africa’s Business Heroes Top 20
#EBR_News Aug 14, 2026
Ethiopian entrepreneur Samson Alemu Fentaye has advanced to the Top 20 of the 2026 Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) competition, putting his biotechnology venture, Thur Biotech Manufacturing Plc, among the continent’s leading emerging businesses selected for the next stage of the competition.
According to a statement issued by ABH on August 14, Samson is among 20 entrepreneurs selected from an expanded Top 100 cohort drawn from more than 24,000 applications across all 54 African countries.
The Top 20 will compete in the semi-final scheduled for August 21–22 in Nairobi, Kenya, where they will pitch their businesses before business, investment and entrepreneurial leaders.
Samson leads THUR BIOTECH, an Ethiopian biotechnology company developing environmentally friendly biofertilizers and biological crop protection solutions designed to improve soil health and agricultural productivity.
The company was selected in the Agritech category, placing Ethiopia’s agricultural technology sector among the businesses competing at the continental level.
The 2026 Top 20 represents 12 African countries and 11 sectors, with women entrepreneurs accounting for 40% of the cohort.
Collectively, the businesses generated approximately $85 million in revenue in 2025, according to ABH, with the selected ventures spanning agriculture and agritech, healthcare, manufacturing, climate technology, financial services, education, energy and technology.
ABH said the selection process included interviews conducted by three-person judging panels, followed by on-the-ground visits to every company that advanced to the semi-final and due diligence conducted by PlusVC. The assessment considered leadership, innovation, impact, scalability and commercial strength.
Samson’s advancement follows the selection of three Ethiopian entrepreneurs among the ABH Top 100 announced in June.
Bersufekad Getachew Amare, founder and chief executive officer of EagleLion System Technology, and Nael Hailemariam, co-founder and chief executive officer of Chapa, were selected alongside Samson from more than 24,000 applicants across the continent.
The Top 20 will now compete for 10 places in the final stage of the competition. ABH said the Nairobi semi-final will also bring a larger investor audience, creating opportunities for participating entrepreneurs to connect with potential funders and strategic partners.
#EBR #EBR_News #Ethiopia #AfricaBusinessHeroes #Entrepreneurship #Agritech #Biotechnology #AfricanBusiness #Innovation #AfricanBusiness #EBRNews #EBR_News
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14 August 2026 à 09h26
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