As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic creates a new normal for how many of us work, learn, connect, and collaborate, we wanted to provide an inside look at how we have been able to deliver engaging online content over the past two years. 

Twice a year, we look forward to convening the AWEC community for in-person opportunities to deepen online connections, learn practical and applied skills, and network with a pan-African group of business experts, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. 

The year 2019 marked numerous milestones for AWEC – graduating the first cohort of entrepreneurs, connecting with the African diplomatic community, growing our Board of Stewards, doubling our roster of Mentors, and expanding our reach to all 54 African countries. 

This past December, AWEC opened its application to current and aspiring African women entrepreneurs seeking the knowledge and network necessary to grow their businesses. This year, over 2,600 applications were submitted from 49 African countries! 

Year 2 participant Rehema prepared herself to address the audience at the Dar es Salaam Leadership Summit. She looked out at the crowd and felt her nerves kick into high gear. Desiree, a fellow AWEC entrepreneur, grasped her by the arm and said to her, “What would Aya say?!” before the two shared a smile.

Many AWEC participants will say, “AWEC was a game changer,” but for Elishiba Ngugi, being a member of AWEC’s first cohort was a truly transformational experience. Elishiba is the Director of Yahrohk Social Innovations, a social enterprise tackling the challenges of youth unemployment in Kenya.

The AWEC Business Academy is a new way for African business women to develop skills and join a network of leaders, in a condensed amount of time. Unlike the flagship year-long AWEC program, Business Academy courses are designed for African women entrepreneurs to develop specific business management skills in just one month.

Networks are critical to the success of women entrepreneurs. According to Forbes, women can significantly increase the longevity of their businesses by joining professional women’s networks. 

“AWEC has been a catalyst for my business growth,” says Nykita Diggs, a Liberian Cohort 2 member and Founder of Creative Afrik. Her sentiments are similar to those of Malawian Founder of Queen City, Sarah Amani, who describes her AWEC experience as “the biggest opportunity I have had to build proper processes for my business.”

Launched to meet an expressed need for better access to high quality business and management skills training, AWEC was explicitly designed to create impact for African women entrepreneurs. 

Like so many of the individuals in the African Women Entrepreneurship Cooperative, Ritha Tarimo is a superwoman: a mother, an executive, an author, an advocate, a mentor, and an entrepreneur. 

Online and in-person peer networking is one of the core components of AWEC, connecting women entrepreneurs across the African continent and diaspora. Time and again, we hear stories of how they never imagined having sisters in other countries. 

Entrepreneurs often give up on their business too quickly. They find it difficult to persevere and iterate until their business finds the perfect product – market fit.

As the world becomes more connected on the internet, online courses can be attractive options to deliver knowledge equitably, without needing to physically show up for a lecture. But what about the need to mentally show up? 

We are spotlighting AWEC Alumnae Nandini Tanya Lallmon – a 29 year-old lawyer and social activist leader from Mauritius. As a member of the 1st AWEC Cohort, Tanya learned critical skills and built a network that have helped her to lead a number of NGOs in Mauritius.

“AWEC is powerful.” This was the common refrain as 150 members of the 2nd AWEC Cohort who gathered at the annual Leadership Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. For Nykita Diggs, the founder of a Liberian creative agency called Creative Afrik, “AWEC has been a catalyst for change and growth.” 

As guests arrived at the home of philanthropist and CEO Shahin Mafi to celebrate AWEC’s first year and to raise funds to support our ongoing work, they were greeted by two AWEC alumnae – Ejiro Jakpa from Nigeria and Sharon Ndegwa from Kenya.

Back in March 2019, as the first AWEC cohort reached the end of their program year and thought about what was ahead, the AWEC leadership team challenged them to pay it forward.