IFC unveils 100 women-led startup owners to partake in the She Wins Africa initiative

IFC has unveiled the list of 100 women-led startup owners chosen to partake in the She Wins Africa initiative, spearheaded by IFC. This program seeks to expedite access to capital for women-led startups across sub-Saharan Africa. The selected participants will undergo comprehensive interventions, enhancing their investment readiness with mentoring, advice, and opportunities to connect with potential investors, industry leaders, and peers. With a focus on promoting gender equality and empowering women entrepreneurs, the initiative addresses the stark imbalance in startup finance, as women founders in Africa receive a mere three percent of startup financing according to a 2021 World Bank report.

Hailing from nearly 3,000 applicants spanning diverse sectors such as ag-tech, climate-tech, e-commerce, ed-tech, health-tech, and fintech, the 100 participants will benefit from the investment-readiness program. She Wins Africa will additionally implement other initiatives, including a bootcamp for 200 pre-seed women-led startups, extending acceleration support for another 200 startups where it’s less accessible, and establishing a coalition of funds, venture capital firms, and gender-lens investors to enhance finance accessibility for women-led businesses across Africa.

Nathalie Akon Gabala, Director of Gender and Economic Inclusion at IFC, emphasized the empowerment provided by She Wins Africa, stating, “It’s time for investors to step up and fund women. A strong entrepreneurship ecosystem benefits us all.” Launched at the Africa CEO Forum in Côte D’Ivoire in 2023, She Wins Africa is the second initiative of its kind, following the success of IFC’s She Wins Arabia program, which has supported 170 women entrepreneurs and over 35 Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) in North Africa and the Middle East since 2021. This ongoing commitment by IFC underscores the imperative to bridge the gender gap in startup financing and foster a thriving entrepreneurial landscape.