The USA and Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) have introduced the 2023 Academy for Girls Entrepreneurs. The programme is open to younger ladies between 21 and 35 in South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
The Academy for Girls Entrepreneurs, launched in 2019 as an initiative of the U.S. Division of State’s Bureau of Instructional and Cultural Affairs, has helped over 25,000 ladies internationally develop their companies and be taught digital expertise. It goals to advertise financial development and prosperity and empower ladies to construct higher futures for his or her households and communities.
This 12 months, the South African cohort will choose 140 members to hitch actions in Bloemfontein, Cape City, Durban, Johannesburg, Maseru, Mbabane, and Pretoria. With this expanded 2023 cohort, the full variety of ladies entrepreneurs skilled by way of the U.S. Mission to South Africa and AWIEF partnership will surpass 550. This 12 months, the chance is open to ladies from neighbouring international locations, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Chosen members will get entry to AWIEF Neighborhood, which supplies ongoing peer studying and assist, expert-facilitated hybrid enterprise administration coaching and mentorship classes, in addition to free delegate passes to the 2023 AWIEF Convention in Kigali, Rwanda, amongst others. ladies can apply here.
Africa has extra feminine entrepreneurs than anyplace else on the earth, with ladies making up 58% of the continent’s self-employed population. Nevertheless, ladies entrepreneurs throughout sub-Saharan Africa proceed to earn decrease income than their male counterparts and have entry to much less funding, making it tough for women-owned SMEs to develop. There’s a $42 billion gender funding gap across Africa, costing the continent about $92 million per 12 months.
Irene Ochem, founder and CEO of AWEIF, shared that the Academy for Girls Entrepreneurs program has been an enormous success in South Africa to date. “It has empowered enterprising younger ladies not solely with the information, networks, and entry they should launch and scale profitable enterprises but additionally with private growth and development. We’re excited to be persevering with in our function as implementing accomplice and increasing the impression to ladies in Lesotho and Eswatini.”
AWIEF is an award-winning ladies’s financial empowerment organisation that gives ladies entrepreneurs in Africa the assist wanted to develop their companies. Their mission is to foster ladies’s financial inclusion, development and empowerment by way of entrepreneurship assist and growth.