Applications to participate are officially open to women founders, investors and ecosystem partners operating in Africa
Women Who Build Africa (WWBA), a community created to convene and support women working in tech across Africa, today announced an open call for women founders, as well as investors and ecosystem partners, to express interest in joining the first annual WWBA Assembly, taking place in Nairobi, September 13th-14th. A diverse selection committee will provide 10 founders the opportunity for an all expenses paid trip to Nairobi, to attend the Assembly, pitch to a room of the region’s leading investors and network with ecosystem partners.
Partners and sponsors include Founders Factory Africa, Enza Capital, Open Capital, NEXT176, One Day Yes, Untapped Global, A&A Collective, WomHub, Amazon Web Services and more.
Founders, investors, mentors or additional partners can express interest here.
The WWBA Assembly will include a pitch showcase for 10 early-stage women founders from across the continent, thoughtful discussions about women in venture capital and engaging panels, workshops and talks for attendees. Each day will wrap with social events including happy hours and dinners to maximize networking in a relaxed environment.
“We’re honored and excited to make this event a reality, bringing together women building for the next generation of African growth,” said Women Who Build Africa co-founder, Gwera Kiwana. “Thea and I launched WWBA after seeing a real need for more opportunities for underrepresented builders in this space to meet and connect, as well as for tailored programming and support designed specifically for women in tech across stages on the continent. We see this event as a foundation for what’s possible in the future, and we’re grateful to our partners for working with us to make this happen. We welcome founders, investors and ecosystem partners who share our mission of supporting women builders to show meaningful support in driving inclusive growth.”
Startups participating in the pitch will be selected from the applicant pool by a diverse panel of investor partners. Selected founders will also be matched with mentors from the WWBA community to support them ahead of their pitch. Attendance for the event is open to other founders, operators, investors and other members of the WWBA community. Allies are welcome.
The agenda will include:
- Discussions focused on women in venture capital, led by A&A Collective and Dream VC
- 10 early-stage startup pitches
- A full day of workshops, talks from later stage founders, panel discussions + more, led by our partners
- Networking happy hours, VIP dinners and more
Applications are open now through August 14th, 2023. Startups participating in the pitch must have at least one active woman or non-binary founder and must be pre-Series A. Additional companies and later-stage founders will be invited to attend. Anyone that wishes to participate can express interest here.
Women Who Build Africa (WWBA) was launched in May 2022 by Thea Sokolowski (Stitch) and Gwera Kiwana (MFS Africa). The community has more than 600 members across Africa, and abroad. Since launching, WWBA has hosted meetups and events across Nairobi, Cape Town, Accra and London, and launched a newsletter and vibrant Slack community.
About Women Who Build Africa
Founded in 2022 by Gwera Kiwana and Thea Sokolowski, Women Who Build Africa (WWBA) is an intentional community designed to bring together women and non-binary people across Africa’s tech space, with a goal of enabling them to build better. Born out of a need for a central community like this one, WWBA facilitates spaces and opportunities for underrepresented groups across the continent (and beyond) to meet, share ideas, learn and connect. It also aims to make meaningful space for the outstanding junior women we work with to nurture the next generation of talent. Learn more at https://www.womenwhobuild.africa.
For enquiries, contact:
Thea Sokolowski, co-founder, Women Who Build Africa, info@womenwhobuild.africa
