Deadline: May 7, 2021

Applications for the Women in Africa 54 (WIA54) Programme 2021 are now open. The WIA 54 programme promotes women entrepreneurship in Africa since 2017. Each year, it endows 54 African women entrepreneurs from 54 African countries with a comprehensive support package consisting of training, communication, mentoring and networking.

In 2021, WIA rolls out its 2030 plan, which multiplies 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!

Benefits

• Training & Mentoring
  • Take part in an online training bootcamp.
  • Receive an offered training by one of the 58 campuses of their partner honoris united universities.
  • Be mentored and coached by an experienced leader.
• Network
  • Integrate a network of more than 100,000 members worldwide.
  • Have access to privileged consulting sessions with their partners.
  • Have direct contact with pan-African and global experts.
• International Exposure
  • Speak at international webinars.
  • Broadcast your projects on WIA platforms.

Eligibility

• Open to 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 (primary business category):
  • Education
  • Health
  • Agriculture
  • Environment
  • FinTech
  • Digital & Technology
  • Creative Industries
  • Beauty Industries

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria for the projects:

• Innovative product, service or technology
• Proven business model scalability
• Strong growth potential
• Ambitious team with strong execution ability
• Market traction (revenue, number of users, funds raised)
• Potential impact in Africa

Application

For all your questions related to your application contact WIA at: WIA54@wia-initiative.com and for your questions related to WIA in general: contact@wia-initiative.com.

Click here to apply

For more information, visit WIA54.