The mission of “She Leads Africa” is to help female entrepreneurs gain access to the knowledge, networks, and financing to build and scale strong businesses.
She Leads africa believes that female entrepreneurs face 4 key barriers to full participation in Africa’s growth story. These barriers are as follows:
- Unequal access to education;
- constraining Cultural Stereotypes;
- Limited Opportunies to develop useful networks; and
- Limited Access to financing
All these gave birth to the “She Leads Africa’s Entrepreneur Showcase”.
This is a platform that introduces the continent’s most promising female entrepreneurs to investors, accelerators, and mentors looking to invest in the next generation of African talent.”She Leads Africa” is looking for early stage startups that want to meet investors, gain access to new mentors, and grow across Africa.
The top 10 applicants will be invited to pitch their business ideas in front of a panel of notable business personalities for the chance to win a cash prize of $10, 000 as well as other non-financial prizes.
Application Criteria
Entrepreneur
- Have a woman on the founding team who will present at the pitch day
- Female founder between 18-35 years old
- Focused on the African market (Diaspora entrepreneurs are welcome)
Company
- Received less than $50K USD in funding
- Been in operation for less than 3 years
- Have a live product in the market
Application closes 30th July, 2014
To learn more about the competition and to apply, visit the “She Leads Africa” Website at sheleadsafrica.org
