Leading Pan-African entrepreneurship and innovation non-profit, the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) (https://www.AWIEForum.org/), has announced the top finalists in its annual awards to celebrate women leaders and entrepreneurs in Africa.
Promoting excellence in entrepreneurship and innovation amongst women-owned businesses in all sectors and across all 54 African countries, is the aim of AWIEF which celebrates the five-year anniversary of its benchmarking annual conference and expo this year. The Awards take place on the last evening of the two-day event, October 29-30, 2019, in Cape Town.
“Women-owned businesses are a vital part of our African economy and the women of Africa are our most valuable, untapped resource,” commented Irene Ochem, AWIEF Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Each year the entries to the AWIEF Awards grow in number and this response signifies the importance of recognising and celebrating women in Africa for their achievements and contribution to Africa’s economic and sustainable development.
“Women-owned businesses are growing on the continent and are a vital part of Africa’s future and contributing to the fact that seven out of 10 of the fastest growing economies in the world, are to be found in Africa. Africa is rising and we must make sure the women of the continent, the backbone of our communities and our families, are given the opportunities to rise as well,” said Ochem.
22 women founders and entrepreneurs have been selected as finalists, from different African countries, across 8 different categories. The AWIEF Awards Panel of Judges is made up of high-calibre industry experts and thought leaders spread across the continent.
Birgitta Cederstrom, Frost & Sullivan’s Business Development Director for MEA and this year’s Head Judge for AWIEF Awards said: “This year’s AWIEF Awards programme has offered a host of equally inspirational and terrific female entrepreneurs and innovators, driving growth for Africa”.
“The judging panel has had some very busy weeks where we reviewed over 200 shortlists for consideration and we are delighted to see the high standard and quality of entries coming through to AWIEF. This is one of the most robust and independent jury based Awards programmes that currently is offered in Africa, and we are thrilled to support female entrepreneurs with a worthy recognition as well as good PR and Media exposure.
“We are hoping that investors are signing up for the upcoming Award Programme Subscription that will be launched in 2020 to help identify the best female start-ups in Africa across key industries such as agri, tech, fintech, chemicals and healthcare.”
To see the nominees and awards available, visit www.awieforum.org/.
