The 2023 IFC She WINS Africa Women Entrepreneurs Program
The 2023 IFC She WINS Africa Women Entrepreneurs program is a global initiative that aims to empower women entrepreneurs and boost gender equality across Africa. Through this program, IFC and its partners will invest in businesses led by qualified and experienced female entrepreneurs. She Wins Africa is a program organized to support women entrepreneurs across sub–Saharan Africa by offering training, mentorship, and networking opportunities that will help their startups grow.
She Wins Africa aims to tackle these challenges and enhance opportunities for women-led startups to access financing.
She Wins Africa heeds IFC’s successful She Wins Arabia program, which has offered training for women entrepreneurs and support to funds and accelerators in the Middle East and North Africa to help them better engage with women-run businesses.
Championing women in the private sector is central to IFC’s strategy in Africa, where IFC promotes gender equality and equal access to jobs, assets, and opportunities. IFC provides finance and advisory services to build the ecosystem for dynamic and inclusive entrepreneurship in Africa.
THE PROGRAM WILL
- Provide investment readiness training and business skills capacity building, which will help women-led startups improve their chances of accessing finance.
- Provide capacity building for funds and Venture Capital on gender-lens investing to help accelerate investments in women-led startups and enterprises including ten startup support organizations.
- Capacity building for accelerators and ESOs to support the incubation of early-stage startups and support the development of a strong pipeline of investible startups.
- Facilitate matchmaking and pitching events between female founders and investors to facilitate the flow of funds to women-owned businesses.
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ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS FOR THE 2023 IFC She WINS Africa Women Entrepreneurs Program
All participants must meet the following criteria:
- 21+ years of age
- Must be Female
- Must have at least 1+ years in business
- Must be headquartered in any Sub-Saharan African country.
- Industry: Agnostic with technology as a central component.
- Previous participants of similar IFC programs are ineligible to apply.
- Must be Fluent in English.
- She Wins Africa participants must be available to attend online training sessions and travel to networking events during the next 12 months.
IFC WILL ONLY COVER FLIGHT AND HOTEL EXPENSES FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM
MERITS
- By participating in the She Wins Africa program, you will benefit from capacity-building, networking, and match-making opportunities with venture capital (VC) firms and private equity (PE) funds that have a gender-lens investment approach.
- Additionally, you will participate in pitch competitions to showcase your skills, gain valuable feedback from potential investors, and gain exposure to your startup.
Women interested in applying to the program should visit the She Wins Africa Program page or contact shewinsafrica@ifc.org for more information.
Application Deadline: September 15, 2023.
The 2023 IFC She WINS Africa Women Entrepreneurs Program
