CWL Accelerator Program 2024 for African Entrepreneurs

Apply now for the CWL Accelerator Program 2024 designed for African Entrepreneurs! This 18-month program offers training, mentorship, and support to six social enterprises focusing on economically empowering women in low-income countries.

We welcome organizations that enhance business skills, offer education, provide access to digital markets and payment tools, and deliver crucial mental health or healthcare support to working women and micro-entrepreneurs to apply.

Award Summary:

Award Sponsor(s): Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)

Study Level: Not specified

Requirements and eligibility criteria for CWL Accelerator Program 2024 for African Entrepreneurs:

Accelerate chat service growth and impact for social enterprises with guidance, mentorship, and implementation support.
Seeking Social Enterprises in Kenya, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Uganda, Senegal, Nigeria, and other low-income regions.
Criteria: Clear business case or Theory of Change for using WhatsApp chat to enhance women’s economic agency.
Organizations must commit to building and evolving their chat service, possessing the necessary time, resources, or team for this objective.
Prototyping and Launching Support: A three-month onboarding and training process, creating a fully operational minimum viable chat (MVP) for deployment.
Ongoing Training & Support: Monthly enterprise assistance for 18 months, tailored to achieve strategic chat service goals.
Mentorship from Experts: Guidance from Solutions Engineers, Conversational Designers, and Turn.io AI/Data Engineers.
Access to Technology: Turn.io Enterprise license and subsidized WhatsApp Business Account for 18 months.
Knowledge Enhancement: Collaborative learning sessions and quarterly cohort meetings to build a robust community of practice among the participating enterprises.

SEE ALSO: UNHCR Internships 2024

Application Procedure for CWL Accelerator Program 2024 for African Entrepreneurs (How to apply);

Selection Process:

Emphasis on a strong business case/theory of change for using chat to benefit low-income women entrepreneurs or women in the workforce.
Preference for initiatives aiming to reduce gender disparities.
Ideal applicants are social enterprises committed to creating and expanding a WhatsApp-based chat service. They should have the resources to develop, manage, and sustain the chat service post-Accelerator program.
Applicants should outline a clear plan for measuring and evaluating the impact of their new chat-based system. This plan should capture data before (baseline) and after (endline) the accelerator program, focusing on women’s economic empowerment. Indicators might include increased turnover, higher income, improved market access, upskilling, or financial services integration.

Application Deadline: January 31, 2024

For more information visit the official website