50MAWSP - Training for African Women Entrepreneurs. Applications are open!

The African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), and the Economic Community of African States West (ECOWAS), is implementing a Capacity Building Program for African Women Entrepreneurs. The program is produced in collaboration with Eyecity Limited and IMPACT Lab, and will be hosted on the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform (50 MAWSP). The objective of the program is to equip 1000 African women entrepreneurs, operating in different sectors and value chains in 36 African countries, with professional skills to help them grow their businesses.

Applications for this program are open from today, February 28, 2024 .

The Capacity Building Program will provide training and mentoring sessions for women entrepreneurs and users of 50 MAWSPs from the COMESA, EAC and ECOWAS regions. The program will focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help them support their businesses, develop sustainable business skills and access networking opportunities.

Here are the selection criteria for the capacity building program:

• Applicants must have an African passport and/or reside in one of the selected African countries and have an identification document such as a passport, national identity card or voter card issued in these countries selected Africans - Benin, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo DRC, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe .
• Applicants must be aged 18 and over. Priority will be given to young entrepreneurs (18-35 years old).
• Any start-up, micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME), or entrepreneur operating in the African ecosystem across different value chains is invited to apply.
• Applicants must be early-stage entrepreneurs (0-4 year business) with a deployed and operational business.
• Business entities are either registered or unregistered.
• Candidates must have access to internet connectivity as the training is delivered virtually.
• The candidate must have registered on the 50 MAWS platform.

To create an account on 50MAWSP. Please select the one that suits you best below:

Selected candidates will be integrated into the program where they will receive:

• Access to live training sessions on developing professional business skills
• Access to specialist business mentoring and community events.
• Access to curated resources to help them promote and grow their business.
• Access to the 50 MAWS platform which offers a strong community and network of entrepreneurial ecosystem players across Africa, as well as access to an inter-regional market.

Applicants will need to complete an application form which will take between three and five minutes to complete.

Program Structure

14-week capacity building program including:

• 6 weeks of virtual training.
• 1 hour of live lessons per week.
• Access to knowledge and resources for the 1000 beneficiaries of the program.
• Mentoring opportunities for all participants.
• Networking and coaching support.

Recorded sessions will be made available on the 50 MAWS platform and mobile application.