Latest news with #womenentrepreneurship
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Nominations Now Open for the 2025 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Awards Honouring Africa's Women Entrepreneurs
The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) ( is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2025 edition of the prestigious AWIEF Awards. As an award-winning pan-African women's economic empowerment organisation, AWIEF is committed to closing the gender gap by promoting and supporting women's entrepreneurship and leadership in business across Africa. The AWIEF Awards recognise, honour, and celebrate outstanding women entrepreneurs and founders for their achievements and contributions to the continent's inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. Nominees should be established women entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional vision, leadership, innovation, and business success within their industries and sectors. The winners of the 2025 AWIEF Awards will be announced and celebrated at a high-profile awards ceremony and gala dinner on 31 October 2025, as the grand finale of the AWIEF2025 Conference, taking place from 30 to 31 October 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town, South Africa. Entries are now open in the following eight (8) categories: Young Entrepreneur Award Tech Entrepreneur Award Agri Entrepreneur Award Creative Industry Award Empowerment Award Energy Entrepreneur Award Social Entrepreneur Award Lifetime Achievement Award These awards spotlight women in Africa who are breaking barriers, building successful businesses, and transforming communities through innovative, sustainable, and impactful initiatives and solutions. 'The AWIEF Awards are not just about recognition – they are about empowering and amplifying the voices of women who are boldly shaping the future of Africa,' said Irene Ochem, Founder and CEO of AWIEF. Eligibility Nominees must be Africa-based women entrepreneurs, founders, or business leaders who have made significant contributions to economic growth and development. Nomination Deadline 17 July 2025 at 11:59 CAT How to Nominate You can either self-nominate or nominate someone else you know. Visit the nomination page at: Click on 'Submit an entry' Register and create a profile Complete the nomination form (you may save and return to it at any time) Submit the final entry before the deadline All entries will be reviewed and judged by an international panel of esteemed judges. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). For further enquiries, please contact: awards@
Entrepreneur
28-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
NSE and WE HUB Ink MoU to Empower Women Entrepreneurs and Boost Financial Literacy in Telangana
This strategic collaboration will focus on enhancing financial awareness through investor awareness programs (IAPs), guiding women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in accessing capital via NSE's EMERGE platform, and implementing a comprehensive Student Skilling Program in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) sector. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In a landmark move aimed at strengthening financial literacy and fostering women-led entrepreneurship, the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and the WE HUB Foundation, a Government of Telangana initiative, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch multiple impactful programs across the state. This strategic collaboration will focus on enhancing financial awareness through investor awareness programs (IAPs), guiding women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in accessing capital via NSE's EMERGE platform, and implementing a comprehensive Student Skilling Program in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) sector. The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Telangana's Hon'ble Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, D Shridhar Babu, and Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, among other dignitaries. It was formally signed by Sriram Krishnan, Chief Business Development Officer, NSE, and Sita Pallacholla, CEO, WE HUB Foundation. Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Special Chief Secretary, ITE&C and I&C Departments, and Sita Pallacholla jointly commented: "We are pleased to collaborate with NSE on this initiative. Empowering women entrepreneurs and creating meaningful skilling opportunities are vital steps toward a resilient economy." The MoU outlines a roadmap that includes seminars, workshops, roadshows, and mentorship to help MSMEs scale through IPO fundraising. It also promotes financial education for students, enhancing their employability in Telangana's evolving economy. Shri Sriram Krishnan added, "This collaboration is a critical step in our mission to build a financially informed and inclusive ecosystem. With WE HUB's reach and our expertise, we aim to create real, scalable impact." NSE has already conducted over 14,600 IAPs and trained 7,500+ students under its skilling program. With 615 companies listed on NSE EMERGE having raised over INR 17,083 crore, this initiative promises to unlock new capital and growth avenues for Telangana's businesses and youth alike.
Zawya
23-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Grey Awards $9500 to Women Entrepreneurs from Brazil and Nigeria through UpGreyed Her 2025
Grey, the global banking platform empowering digital nomads and businesses with borderless financial solutions, today announced the winners of its 2025 UpGreyed Her initiative. The equity-free grant program awarded $9,500 to four women-led businesses, marking the initiative's successful expansion from its African roots to a global platform for women's entrepreneurship. "Financial inclusion isn't just about access to banking, it's about providing the resources entrepreneurs need to scale their impact," said Femi Aghedo, co-founder of Grey. "By taking UpGreyed Her global, we're reinforcing our commitment to building a financial ecosystem where women founders can thrive across borders, just like our banking solutions.' Launched on International Women's Day (March 8), the 2025 edition attracted almost 2,000 applications from women-led businesses across multiple continents, a substantial increase from last year's Africa-focused program. The initiative specifically targeted growth-stage companies in diverse sectors, including traditionally male-dominated fields and innovation-driven industries such as agritech, climatetech, and femtech. Following a rigorous selection process, including virtual pitch presentations from finalists, Grey awarded grants to four exceptional women-led businesses: Grand Prize ($4,000): Patricia Zanella, EcoCiclo (Brazil)- Creating Brazil's first 100% biodegradable sanitary pads from locally sourced materials to address menstrual poverty in indigenous and rural communities. First Runner-Up ($2,000): Sarah Olagoke, Tersley Foods Ltd (Nigeria)- Empowering women to manage reproductive health challenges like PCOS through functional foods and community support. Second Runner-Up ($2,000): Arinola Okeowo, Ultra Farms Ltd (Nigeria)- Improving food access by tackling post-harvest losses and connecting smallholder farmers to better market opportunities. Third Runner-Up ($1,500): Elizabeth Oladepo, 07 Foods Ltd (Nigeria) - Driving food security through sustainable processing while equipping women and youth with practical agribusiness skills. Patricia Zanella, who previously worked in human rights before founding EcoCiclo, expressed her gratitude:"This grant validates our vision for sustainable menstrual products that create both environmental and social impact. With Grey's support, we'll scale our production and expand to reach more vulnerable communities across Brazil. I'm proud to be part of this global network of women who are building, scaling, and breaking barriers." Applications were evaluated by an accomplished panel of women leaders based on innovation, scalability, social impact, leadership strength, revenue potential, and business viability. This year's judges were Tinu Phillips Odufuye, Head of Business Development at FCMB Asset Management [Nigeria], Sarah Achebe, Head of Finance at Grey [Nigeria], Natasha Mahtani, Relational Intelligence Coach and Women's Advancement Advocate [India], Maite Lourenço, General Partner at YA Ventures and Founder of Black Rocks Startups [Brazil] and ** Anmol Bharti, Senior AML Analyst at Grey [India]. "Funding women isn't just charity, it's smart economics," said Tinu Phillips Odufuye during her keynote address at the awards ceremony. "UpGreyed Her empowers women-led businesses not just to dream, but to scale and shape the world. Because upgrading her is, in fact, upgrading the world.' UpGreyed Her 2025 was executed in partnership with WIMBIZ, a leading organization committed to elevating women through professional development and entrepreneurship. Grey will begin accepting applications for the UpGreyed Her 2026 in March next year, with plans to increase both funding amounts and the number of recipients. For more information about Grey's services, visit Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Grey. About Grey: Grey is at the forefront of providing secure and convenient global banking solutions to meet the needs of customers and businesses. Grey holds a Money Service Business license from FINTRAC in Canada and FinCEN in the USA, and our primary focus is emerging markets. Our range of services enables individuals and businesses to easily own and manage multi-currency accounts. This includes currency exchange, sending and receiving payments to and from over 170 countries, as well as access to virtual cards.
