She Leads Africa is again helping drive leadership, commerce and innovation among the continent’s savvy women.
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A second time round, the Entrepreneur Showcase is the female empowerment 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. Specifically, the organisation said in a media release, it’s looking for entrepreneurs looking to grow and scale their businesses across Africa
Last year, She Leads Africa was also responsible for taking eight women-led startups 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 (pictured above).
Read more: She Leads Africa announces top 10 young women entrepreneurs
2014 winner Cherae Robinson founder of travel startup Tastemakers Africa stated the following:
Participating in the She Leads Africa pitch competition literally changed my life and my business, by putting me on a rocket ship towards success. I was able to hire my first employee with my winnings and I continue to receive support from the team nearly one year later.
Applications for the 2015 competition open on 1 May and close on 30 June. Businesses from any industry are eligible to apply 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.
To apply, click here.
