Applications for the third season of the FemBioBiz Acceleration Programme to close next week

Are you a woman entrepreneur running a business in agri-food, health, biowaste, natural beauty products or nutrition?

Applications for this year’s edition of the FemBioBiz Acceleration Programme will close next week Saturday (20 April). Entries are open to individuals from all Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states.

The programme — which is now in its third season — is run by the Southern African Network for Biosciences (SANBio) and development aid organisation Hivos and aims to support women entrepreneurs in the biosciences sector.

Over 240 business have been incubated through the FemBioBiz Acceleration programme in the past two years

The initiative is implemented in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe by the Botswana Innovation Hub, mHub, DEV Mozambique, the National Commission on Research Science and Technology (NCRST), National Institute of Science Technology and Innovation (NSTI), African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (Awief), Wecreate and the National Biotechnology Authority (NBA), respectively.

Successful applicants will take part in the nearest country’s programme. Participants of the programme stand to win prizes in their countries, gain regional exposure and access to international markets.

In addition FemBioBiz Acceleration programme participants will also get the opportunity to attend the SA Innovation Summit which will be held between 11 and 13 September in Cape Town.

Other networking and pitching events where FemBioBiz entrepreneurs can showcase their businesses, as well as meet investors and financial institutions include the African Innovation Summit and Finnish startup conference Slush.

Key components of the programme include:

• The development of peer-to-peer networks
• Awareness creation
• Access to markets and information
• Mentorship and financial investments through the aligned Hivos Impact Investments Food and Lifestyle Fund

In a joint statement last month, SANBio and Hivos said in the past two years over 650 businesses have applied to participate in the programme.

The first edition of the FemBioBiz programme was held in 2017 and incubated 101 women-led businesses, while the second edition — which was held last year — incubated 150 businesses.

Read more: FemBioBiz Accelerator to partner with local organisations for second season
Read more: AWIEF partners with SANbio for Season 2 of FemBioBiz Acceleration Programme
Read more: Before FemBioBiz programme I didn’t know what pitching was – biotech winner

Featured image: ernestoeslava via Pixabay