The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) and the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have joined forces to drive increased access to finance and markets for women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) across Southern, East and West Africa.
The programme “Solutions Catalysing Increased Access to Capital for the Success of Women Entrepreneurs” aims to accelerate efforts to address gender inequality and drive inclusive economic transformation.
510 growth-oriented WSMEs will be supported for scale, access to markets and investment readiness across 8 African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
The two-year programme creates a profitable pipeline of investable businesses ready to access finance.
Programme Components
- AWIEF Growth Accelerator (in partnership with Nedbank) – to enhance investment readiness and increase access to finance.
- eCommerce Capacity Development (in partnership with UNIDO) – for building knowledge, capacity and skills in digital channels to increase participation and success in online business.
- Digital Skills (in partnership with Amazon Web Services) – to strengthen WSMEs capacity to embrace technology innovation.
- Mentorship and Advisory – enhancing the visibility and access to role models for WSMEs through a mentorship platform.
Call for Applications for 2022 Cohort
Applications are still open for participation in these programme components:
eCommerce Capacity Development; Digital Skills.
All registered participants will have access to the mentorship platform.
Selection Criteria
WSMEs registered and operating in: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
To submit your application, click here.
The deadline for submission is Monday, 31 October 2022 at 11:59pm Central Africa Time (CAT). Applications will only be accepted through the link above.
Contact us at info@awieforum.org for any enquiries.