Introduced in 2017, the WIA 54 programme promotes women entrepreneurship in Africa. Each year, it endows 54 African women entrepreneurs from 54 African countries with a comprehensive support package consisting of training, communication, and networking.
In 2021, WIA rolled out its 2030 plan, which multiplied the number of beneficiaries of the programme by 10!
This year, before appointing the 54 laureates, the jury will make an initial selection of 10 finalists per country. Thus, 540 women candidates will benefit from training and coaching. Through this newly introduced initiative, WIA aims at supporting more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs, indirectly contributing to the creation of 100,000 jobs, by 2030.
From this strengthened pool of entrepreneurs, the jurors will then select the 54 country laureates and 9 sectoral prize winners who will receive a comprehensive package of support to further boost their success!
Sectors: Candidates can apply in the following areas:
- Education
- Health
- Agriculture
- Environment
- Fintech
- Digital & Technology
- Creative Industries
- Beauty Industries
Eligibility: Any African woman entrepreneur whose business is in Africa.
The criteria are as follows:
- Business created or led by an African woman
- Startup created less than 5 years ago
- First traction on the market (sales, number of users, funds raised)
- Be part of one of the 8 categories
- Applicants can only compete in a category that is their primary business category. For example:
- If you produce jams sold exclusively on a website, your category is “Agriculture” not “Digital.”
- If you offer digital training, your primary category is “Education” and your secondary category is “Digital”
Program Benefits:
Mentoring
The WIA54 mentor network is made up of people selected from the very large WIA community on an international scale. These mentors have a strong desire to engage with WIA to support the women’s entrepreneurship effort in Africa. They are mainly:
highly experienced professionals
business leaders and entrepreneurs
company executives
staff members of WIA’s patrons and partners
Training
The training program is done in 2 phases:
First phase: Virtual Bootcamp for finalists
This phase will be an opportunity to train the finalists on essential subjects for the development of their projects whatever their category: Marketing, Finance/Banking, Communication, Digital Marketing, Logistics, Human Resources Management, Strategy, etc.
The speakers are in most cases professionals experts in their field.
Second phase: Virtual Bootcamp for laureates.
This phase is dedicated to the laureates and revelations. It will last 6 months. In order to meet the specific needs of each laureate, the Bootcamp will be done in an individualized coaching format.
Advice and training sessions will be defined with our experts to provide pragmatic support to the laureates.
Network
- To be a member of Women In Africa is to be part of a global community of which Africa is the heart, composed of women and men who share the same values for a more equitable world.
- It is also to give oneself the means to go further, to learn and to meet those who shape the Africa of today and tomorrow.
- By becoming a member of Women In Africa, you will be the first to know about the programs conducted throughout the year and you will have access to all the events – digital or in person –
- organized every week, all over the world (webinars, trainings, networking events, thematic events).
- You’ll also have direct access to all of our network members, and you”ll be able to share your accomplishments, your profile, or your projects.
Application deadline : May 7, 2021
Get more details HERE
Apply HERE
