Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (WE4A)
Updated: Read the WE4A II FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
Programme Features
in grant funding to 120 women entrepreneurs from the TEF alumni network.
of technical support through a virtual acceleration program.
additional grant funding for up to 15 enterprises with high-growth potential.
to improve the business capacity of women-led enterprises and increase their chances of raising follow-on funding from private sector investors.
The “Women Entrepreneurship for Africa” (WE4A) program is an action jointly supported by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), and the German Development agency GIZ (E4D program). It is focused on empowering underserved communities in Sub-Saharan Africa comprising of women, youth, and the informal sector. The Acceleration/Growth Programme will be implemented with support of SAFEEM (Swiss Association for Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets).
Acceleration Programme Startups
The 100 TEF Alumna who are beneficiaries of this partnership were distributed into eight clusters based on their growth stage and sector, to provide a more personalised approach to the programme. Each cluster is led by an Entrepreneur in Residence (EiR) who provides mentorship and support throughout the programme.
Top 30 TEF Alumnae moving to the WE4A Growth Programme
30 TEF Alumnae have been selected to receive up to an additional €50,000 in grant funding as well as an additional three months of training focused on growth. This selection was made following the WE4A Acceleration Programme demo day where 99 entrepreneurs pitched their businesses.
On-Demand Delivery Solution that takes fresh Agro-produce from farms to homes.
Chil Artificial Intelligence Lab
Uses the power of machine learning and AI to aid chronic disease Prevention and Management services.
Dial a pad deploys an App, e-commerce platform, & smart sanitary towel dispensers to achieve uninterrupted education for women and girls.
Dromedic links blood suppliers with hospitals—reducing waste, increasing fast blood delivery, while maintaining quality control.
Equips rural African women with affordable, effective and 100% biodegradable sanitary napkins through an innovative sanitary napkin production unit.
FarmerTribe provides timely access to agricultural inputs, training and extension services to smallholder farmers in last-mile communities.
Developed 2 products that leverage call support, mobile and web applications, database technologies to reach farmers with advisory services.
Farmio leverages precision farming techniques to provide affordable greenhouse farms to guarantee about 120% increased productivity.
Provides farmers access to inputs, services and market, on credit at 0% interest, enabling them to increase production capacity, yield and income.
Fenou Packaging helps agripreneurs find the right packaging for their product, respectful of the environment, via an agripack web platform and shop.
Happy Coffee is an indigenous Seed to Cup Nigerian coffee company, improving the consumption and production of locally sourced coffee by bringing Fresh Brew Coffee to the cup of an average Nigerian.
Innovate Labs
Innovate Labs is a design firm providing cutting edge design and prototyping services that enable entrepreneurs to rapidly take ideas to market.
Kwanza Cocoa is a multifaceted business combining agriculture and manufacturing of cocoa products in Malawi.
Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving reproductive, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa.
We are artisanal cocoa processors with a strong focus on the quality of our products and the sustainability of our processes.
MamaMoni aims to provide micro-business loans to underserved women and low-income women in rural and urban areas in Nigeria.
Mukuru Clean Stoves (MCS) designs, manufactures and distributes improved, efficient, and reliable cookstoves.
We help Africans save and invest subconsciously through a save-as-you-spend/earn model. We are like Acorns, but for Africa.
A one-stop E-Commerce platform that will host all our vendor listing, paid downloadable resources and women professional listing.
ORÍKÌ Group is the first and only all-natural farm to skin brand in Nigeria to operate a luxury spa chain coupled with its own product line.
Paperbags is an eco-friendly packaging manufacturing company that allows SMEs in west Africa, easy access to eco-friendly packaging alternatives.
Kenyan-based, female-owned agro-processing company putting low income women at the heart of our value chain to increase access to affordable quality nutrition for children in Africa.
M’Care is an AI Super App that detects, diagnoses, treats and limits the spread of diseases and outbreaks for low resource settings.
Redbutton is a sustainable fashion company creating more sustainable alternatives, apparel, headwear and accessories for men and women.
SourceMyGadgets is a platform-based solution creating personalized services that meet the end-to-end needs of consumers and fragmented suppliers.
E-commerce that bridges the gap between farmers and consumers by allowing them and sellers to list their harvest, products on our website.
Ecobarter is an integrated waste resource reduction, recovery and recycling platform provider.
An online presence (website and mobile app) is convenient for people to access mental health services 24/7.
ZAAF is a collection of handcrafted leather goods & accessories proudly produced in Africa from the finest materials beautifully integrated with ageless patterns created on traditional looms.
Women Smiles Uganda provides affordable, reliable and modern training in sustainable vertical farming concepts for underserved women in Africa.
Program Overview
Women entrepreneurship for Africa is an EU, OACPS and BMZ funded program, that seeks to provide 120 female entrepreneurs from the TEF alumni network, with access to €10.000 in grant funding that will be paired with 3 months of technical support through a virtual acceleration program.
The program aims to improve the business capacity of women-led enterprises to increase their chances of raising follow-on funding from private sector investors. Additional grant funding up to €50.000 in conjunction with a growth program will be provided to 15 enterprises selected by an expert panel as having the most high-growth potential. This program will be an additional 3 months.
Both the initial acceleration and the follow-on growth programs aim to support women entrepreneurs, in Sub-Saharan Africa, to flourish and contribute to employment creation in their communities through enhanced business capacities, access to formal financial services, and integration into local and regional value chains.
EU (European Union), Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) jointly with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), TEF (Tony Elumelu Foundation) and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
Application Process
Female entrepreneurs from the TEF Alumni network.
TEF is the sourcing partner for this program and will only source female entrepreneurs from their network.
You should have a working product and ideally already have customers.
No, the program is open to businesses operating across all business sectors.
6 to 8 weeks.
The execution partners will inform you via email if you have been accepted to the program.
Please make sure to regularly check your emails and spam folder.
Program Details
The program will last for 3 months of acceleration, and if you are selected, it will be followed by a growth program and technical assistance for an additional 3 months.
There will be 2 startup cohorts
There will be 60 startups in each cohort and every startup represented will be informed on what cohort they are in.
The Acceleration Program is implemented in a virtual environment.
Participating female-led entrepreneurs need to commit to up to 5 hours per week for program activities.
Training and all related program activities will be delivered virtually via Zoom. There will also be an online program management and e-learning platform.
In total, there will be 20.5 hours of activities provided to you per month. Every week you will have:
● 1.5 hours of workshop/training session
● 1.5 hours of 1:1 mentor session
● 1.5 hours of EIR Peer 2 Peer learning session
There will also be 1 hour per month of networking and 1.5 hours per month of an expert/fireside
chat session.
The Demo Day is the event where you pitch your idea to stakeholders, partners, mentors, donors and investors. A marketing campaign will be included to increase visibility.
Yes, all startups going through the program are expected to pitch on the demo day.
External and Internal stakeholders, partners, mentors, donors and investors.
There needs to be at least one female entrepreneur from the TEF Alumni network in the startup that takes part in the program.
The growth program will only be open to the top 15 high-growth startups and is designed to help startups build a Growth Team and implement a Growth Methodology in order to support scaling up the venture and raise Series A and beyond. Grant of up to €50,000 will be a growth capital that is needed to scale up.
Yes, the program provides you with a dedicated mentor based on your startup’s needs.
We will have a team of Acceleration Program Manager, Program Coordinator and Community Manager to assist with any organizational questions you might have. On top of that for all content related questions, there will be a Startup Growth lead and Entrepreneur in Residence that work closely with you.
A team of investment analysts will review all applications and conduct any necessary interviews in order to select the startups that have the most high-growth potential.
For this program, we recommend selecting and supporting women entrepreneurs that have the potential to become high-growth enterprises and thus have the biggest potential impact on future job creation.
High growth enterprises typically have disruptive business models and are targeting large addressable markets. They also have high growth and scale potential and are typically led by ambitious entrepreneurs with significant risk tolerance. By supporting these types of ventures, we support both economic and social impact.
