WIA54 – 6th Edition

Through the WIA 54 program, WIA is committed to supporting 10,000 African women entrepreneurs by 2030 through training, mentoring, communication, and access to finance. Our goal is to contribute to the creation of 100,000 jobs and to contribute to the generation of $10 billion in revenue for the African economy by 2030.

Women are the driving force of African economies, and will positively change the future of the continent. The start-up created by these African women addresses the issues of state responsibility and tackles structural challenges (electrification of the continent, medical coverage, education).
Supporting them in their desire to undertake and promoting them is a win-win and sustainable investment for African and international economies.

The WIA Philanthropy Foundation has initiated the WIA 54 project, for African women entrepreneurs with a strong potential to shape the Africa of tomorrow. Each year, the WIA 54 Award recognizes 54 women entrepreneurs from each of the 54 African countries.

The WIA54 focus on various sectors, but this year we are focusing on the following sectors:

This year

• 540 finalists from 54 African countries will be selected to participate in the bootcamp training and personalized mentoring program, and will become part of the WIA community!
• The best candidates at the end of the mentoring/pitch training phase will participate in the pitching phase which will give them access to investors and “seed capital” (June 2023).
• 54 laureates will have the opportunity to join an MBA program of our partner Honoris United Universities.
• 8 Revelations will benefit from a communication promotion worth €8,000.
• The Gold Award will also receive a prize of €10,000.

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must complete the application form, which has several sections:

• Personal information.
  
• Information about the company. 

The application will be done in 2 steps, the WIA team will get back to the pre-selected candidates after step 1.

 The eligibility criteria:

• The business is created or led by an African woman
• First traction on the market (sales, number of users, funds raised)
• Be part of one of the 8 categories (primary business category)
• Receive a prize of €10,000.

Selection criteria

• 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