The Jack Ma Foundation has eulogised the Communication Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, for her support during the inaugural Africa Netpreneur Summit. In a letter to the Minister, Jason Pau, Head of Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative said, “On behalf of Jack Ma, the Jack Ma Foundation, and our partners, I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for your invaluable support of and participation in the inaugural Africa Netpreneur Summit. The Senior Advisor for International Programs of the Foundation added, “As a key leader in the drive to catalyze Africa’s development and entrepreneur ecosystem, you and Ministry’s support of the African Netpreneur Initiative (ANPI) enabled us make successful strides in realizing our mission: “to identify and spotlight African entrepreneur heroes and their stories to inspire the African continent and beyond”. The Jack Ma Foundation last month hosted the inaugural Africa Netpreneur Summit—where African and global entrepreneurs, investors, educators and leaders convened and discussed how best to enable entrepreneurship and the digital economy across the continent. Guest-speakers at the conference included Ban Ki-moon, Former UN Secretary General and Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens. The 2019 Summit drew approximately 1,500 attendees and saw 10 African entrepreneur heroes awarded $1 million in grant funding. Importantly, the Summit also provided a venue for various actors in the entrepreneur ecosystem to share, learn, and inspire. Since the summit concluded, various key stakeholders across Africa, including several African heads of State have rallied behind the stories and missions of these entrepreneur heroes. In addition, the summit has received significant international press coverage and been covered by major news outlets such as CNN, the Financial Times and Bloomberg. “Our “Africa’s Business Heroes” show continues to broadcast across Africa on DSTV, StarTimes, African TV stations, and YouTube as well as in China on Youku, a leading online streaming platform. The exposure from the competition has provided our top 10 finalists with ongoing opportunities. “The successes of the summit would not have been feasible without the extensive support of government and your Ministry, in particular, provided our team. The Ministry provided extensive and invaluable insights as well as coordination support with various stakeholders within government. As such, on behalf of the ANPI team, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for your support,” the letter read.