To help women-owned African digital enterprises get from the idea stage to operational status, the Tech African Women (TAW) initiative, located in Ethiopia, has just begun.
TAW is an initiative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration with Betacube, and is open to submissions from female-led concept stage firms in Tunisia, Senegal, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.
The program’s goal is to “empower” female entrepreneurs to use their abilities to leverage strong digital firms, expedite the development of project ideas into tested business models, and create alliances amongst various African ecosystems.
In addition to specialists in marketing and finance, participants will have access to a pool of software engineers and designers who will help and coach their teams. The program will run from August to December and feature bootcamps for training, pitching contests, and a two-month online incubation program for the top two firms from each nation.
Eight of the finalist firms will be asked to present at the final event, which will take place in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia at the ECA Conference Centre, with the chance to win the grand prize of a US $7,000 cash grant.
“TAW targets female-led and idea-stage tech startups and offers these startup teams an exclusive opportunity to acquire new entrepreneurial skills, establish partnerships with their African peers, increase regional business visibility, and access funds,” organisers said.
“It supports ideas addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by developing the capacity of female entrepreneurs who desire to understand how to play a role in the continent’s development and want to deep dive into building impact-driven startups.”
Up until August 17, applications are accepted.
