2014 was a very good year for She Leads Africa. They successfully launched their pitch competition which attracted more than 380 applicants from over 30 different countries. This was concluded in Lagos Nigeria where Cherae Robinson (on the picture) the co-founder of Rare Customs was victorious. Her company helps bridge the gap between SME’s, emerging African tourism and investment trends. She won $10,000 for her company with her brilliant pitching skills in addition to access to prominent venture capitalists, angel investors and other leading professionals to act as mentors and sponsors. This is above and beyond the consultation on brand development that the company will receive from the Etisalat in-house marketing team.
In 2015 She Leads Africa wants to make an even bigger impact on the #shentrepreneurs on the continent. They have partnered with the technology giant Intel to provide free workshops for young female tech entrepreneurs to empower them to enhance their IT knowledge and build strong and successful businesses. These will be held across major African cities; starting in Nairobi on the 24th of January, and followed by Johannesburg and Lagos which dates have yet to be released. The workshops will be divided into two with the first session being led by Intel. Here they will demonstrate to participants how to use technology in situations that require problem-solving at the community level. This will be coupled with a practical session focused on participants building their minimum viable product and making this product market-ready. The second session will be handled by She Leads Africa where they will teach all those in attendance how to get their product/service to the final end-consumer. Additionally participants will be inspired by the Lean Start-up model and how to use Intel architecture in their businesses. The designers of the workshop have ensured an equal mix of practical and theoretical exercises to deliver a completely holistic learning experience unprecedented on the continent.
More than 126 million female entrepreneurs were starting or running new businesses in 67 economies in 2012, with a large chunk of those coming from sub-Saharan Africa. They don’t know it yet but African female entrepreneurs are the engine that is powering the ‘Africa Rising’ vehicle. Opportunities such as this workshop should not go to waste at all, especially because it is absolutely free of charge. Interested parties should submit the online application form on the She Leads Africa website while they wait for the two other venue dates to be announced via the official Twitter and Facebook pages.
