Call for Applications: SAIS Female Founder Award 2024 for Female Business Owners in Africa

We’re calling for exceptional female leaders in Africa with an innovative AgTech,  FoodTech or ClimateTech business to apply for the SAIS Female Founder Award  2024!

The award recognizes visionaries who have achieved success in their fields, create social impact, and encourage other women to start or grow their own businesses.

Who we are

The SAIS Female Founder Award is an initiative by “Scaling digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups” (SAIS), a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The SAIS vision is to transform the food systems by being the leading community for tech ventures in the developing world. The start-ups we support must offer solutions that lead to income growth, improved nutrition or adaptation to climate change. With the SAIS Female Founder Award, it is our aim to strengthen the visibility of female-led start-ups and to promote a more equitable and dynamic landscape for female founders to become the next ‘gazelles’ and succeed in building a unicorn in Africa.

What we offer

The award recognizes African female founders with unique businesses that have a strong digital component and embrace social impact. We honor, support and celebrate your ambition by offering unique opportunities for visibility and further development of your business.

The award ceremony for the SAIS Female Founder Award 2024 takes place at VivaTech in Paris on 22- 25 May 2024 in the form of a pitching competition. The three selected winners will be traveling to Paris to attend the event in person. Our prestigious jury will announce the winners’ rankings during an on-stage ceremony.

The three winners will win in-kind support worth up to 30,000€ for the first place, up to 15,000€ for the second place, and up to 7,000€ for the third place. This in-kind support can be vouchers and various tailored services to best boost their business, including: 

• Vouchers for special expenses (e.g. online trainings, software licenses, and other services).

Services:

• Personalized coaching sessions with local and international experts based on individual needs. For example, marketing, investor relations and pitching to further increase visibility.
• Facilitation of meaningful connections for your business development and potential scaling vision by providing local ecosystem integration
• Round trip airfare to Paris and accommodation for the entire stay at VivaTech 2024
• Introduction and involvement to SAIS Female Leader Circle Community wherein women in the start-up ecosystem participate from Inputs sessions with experts from different areas and peer-to-peer exchange sessions. These monthly meetings serve as a platform for insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and skill development tailored to the unique challenges faced by women in the entrepreneurial realm.
• SAIS Female Founder Award Certificate and a seal for your website to recognize your business

Who can apply

To be eligible for the SAIS Female Founder Award, you must meet the following conditions:

Founder

• You are an African female who (co)founded and runs a start-up / growth stage business.
• You should have technical experience in your area of operation.

Impact

• You promote female visionary leadership, support other female leaders and contribute to women’s economic empowerment.
• You are fostering a culture that values diversity.
• Your work has a positive impact on solving an important problem in the industry.
• You contribute to start-up ecosystem development.

Team

• Your start-up has a team of at least three people (including yourself as a founder) who work full time for the start-up.

Digital product/ service

• Your product/service is digital or has a strong digital component.
• Your product is offering an impactful solution in the AgTech, FoodTech or ClimateTech sectors in Africa.

Legal form:

• Your business is registered and operates on the African continent.
• Your business has an official certificate of registration.

Market access and traction

• Your company has been registered at least 2 years before submitting the application.
• Your start-up Must have clear evidence of traction (customer base, revenue).

Business model

• You have a unique value proposition in the market(s) where you operate.
• Your start-up should have an understandable and convincing business model (clear problem statement and defined customer segment).

Evaluations

Our esteemed jury will assess all applications in terms of entrepreneurial vision and resilience, social and economic impact, technical and industry expertise, contribution to empowering female entrepreneurs and the contribution to fostering diversity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Deadline: February 29, 2024

Click HERE to Apply