Africa-UK Female Tech Founders 2020 programme applications to close on Thursday

Female tech entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa tackling local development challenges have until Thursday (21 November) to submit their applications for the Africa-UK: Female Tech Founders 2020 programme.

The programme is an initiative of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) International Tech Hub Network.

The DCMS said in a statement earlier this month that the initiative aims to support gender inclusive economic growth with a specific focus on equipping women with the skills and connections they need to overcome the existing digital gender gap.

Africa-UK Female Tech Founders 2020 programme will be held in London between 20 and 22 January

The programme will bring 15 development-focused women entrepreneurs — five each from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa — to the UK in January for the three-day programme.

Between 20 and 22 January, the 15 will attend masterclasses, events and workshops designed to provide in-depth training on how to scale and grow their business, expand to the UK and how best to position their purpose-driven organisations.

In addition, the 15 also stand to benefit from one-on-one time with UK investors and opportunities for global partnerships and increased investment through peer-to-peer networking.

The programme’s activities will be delivered by UK tech experts, the Department for International Trade’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) Dealmakers and alumni, as well as female tech leaders.

Africa-UK: Female Tech Founders 2020 programme activities include:

• A training session led by successful female tech leaders sharing their funding journey
• A masterclass event covering protecting IP and raising offshore funding, accessing finance, scaling a purpose driven social impact business and protecting customers’ data
• A roundtable with GEP alumni addressing scaling successfully in the UK
• A tailored mentoring event with UK startups, including female founders
• An innovation tour of co-working spaces, including Google Campus
• A networking dinner with UK and African entrepreneurs

The programme will be delivered alongside the Africa Investment Summit, which will be held in London on 20 January. The 15 participants selected for the programme will also be able to attend the event.

Featured image: UK in South Africa via Twitter