The Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) is hosting its flagship Growth Accelerator Programme for 2018, sponsored by Nedbank. AWIEF is seeking 25 ambitious, innovative and committed early-growth-stage South African women entrepreneurs, from a variety of sectors, looking for support to scale their businesses.
Access to finance is the most cited challenge to the growth of women-owned businesses in Africa. Bankability and investment readiness are major impediments to attracting business finance.
This is an intensive six-week programme designed to support participants with the business modelling and growth strategy required to scale their enterprises, become investment ready and develop entrepreneurial leadership. The programme will cover:
- purpose and values
- target market, competitive landscape and value proposition
- delivery model
- financial modelling
- conduct a creative force
- growth strategy
- financing for scale
- pitch training.
Nirmala Reddy, Senior Manager of Nedbank Enterprise Development, says: ‘We support initiatives such as this in line with our pledge to help clients see money differently, which is aimed at making a difference in South Africa, not just for women and children and business, but also for communities throughout the country. The bank strongly focuses on the development of female employees and black-women-owned suppliers, and this can be seen through our development and training programmes. We are also proud that women make up 62% of the workforce at Nedbank.’
The 2018 AWIEF Growth Accelerator, with its first 25 participants, is implemented as a build-up programme that will culminate at the 2018 AWIEF Conference, Exhibition and Awards event taking place on 8 and 9 November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where participating entrepreneurs will pitch their business to an audience of investors, business leaders and corporate decision-makers.
The three best ventures stand to win monetary prizes from AWIEF and financial management advice from Nedbank.
The programme details are as follows:
- Dates: Starts on 17 September and culminates on 8 and 9 November 2018
- Location: Cape Town and Johannesburg
- Participation fee: Free
Eligibility
Businesses must be:
- in a post-revenue phase;
- scalable and innovative ventures;
- in operation for not less than two years (ideally three to five years);
- owned or led by ambitious and committed women entrepreneurs; and
- seeking investment or funding to grow.
If you are interested in participating, click here to apply. Applications close on 31 August 2018.