She Leads Africa is set to support the drive of leadership, commerce and innovation among Africa’s tech savvy women with the announcement of Entrepreneur Showcase, the initiative’s flagship that encourages entrepreneurs to compete for US$15 000 in cash prizes, media features in international news outlets, and exclusive meetings with top investors.
In a press release gotten by Innovation Village, the initiative said it is looking for entrepreneurs looking to grow and scale their businesses across Africa.
Last year, 8 women-led startups were taken to pitch at Diaspora Demo Day in the US, among other things.
“We decided to launch She Leads Africa because we saw a critical gap in the market — no one was investing in high growth female entrepreneurs,” says co-founder Yasmin Belo-Osagie in a press statement. “Through our Entrepreneur Showcase we not only give exceptional entrepreneurs a space to connect with investors and the media but we also provide them with training and mentoring to ensure that they are able to take advantage of the experience.”
From Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and the US, the inaugural event last year received nearly 400 applications from 27 countries for just 10 finalist positions.
Applications for the 2015 competition opened on 1 May and will close on 30 June. Applicants are expected from any industry as long as there is one woman on the founding team between 18-35 years old. Companies must have launched their product or service, been in operation for less than three years and received less than US$50 000 in funding.
