Call for Applications: BIC Africa Online Acceleration Programme 2024 for Women Entrepreneurs

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BIC Africa Online Acceleration Programme 2024 for Women Entrepreneurs

Applications are now open for the 2024 BIC Africa Online Acceleration Program.The BIC Africa Acceleration Programme 2024 will support 20 women entrepreneurs, including 15 from Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Somalia, and 5 from other Sub-Saharan African countries, to help them scale their businesses and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The programme will run from April to July 2024 for 4 months, and it will focus on established post-revenue women entrepreneurs with a registered startup or business, across all sectors and business types through a combination of online training modules, coaching sessions, individual exercises, and a networking session with women experts from Africa and Europe with relevant experience in supporting innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups.

BIC Africa Online Acceleration Programme Requirements

BIC is looking for established women entrepreneurs who are willing to explore growing (and potentially internationalizing) their business with the support of the BIC Africa Acceleration Programme.
Twenty selected women entrepreneurs will benefit from a full online training course (6 modules); will participate in dedicated group coaching sessions (4 sessions) to deepen some of the topics addressed during the training; will participate in 2 networking sessions; will be introduced to the alumnae network of BIC Africa Women Acceleration programme and gain access to other networking and market linkage opportunities and events.

Also Apply:L’Oréal-UNESCO Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talents Programme 2024 for African Women in Science

The preferred candidate should:

Be a woman (minimum age of 18-years-old) founder/owner of already established business with an operational team and a strong development potential.
Be available between April and July 2024 to participate in the Programme with maximum 2 hours per week for online sessions + time to work individually and reflect upon the learnings.
Already running a start-up or company (it must be registered since at least 1 year) and seeking to scale up.
Demonstrate commitment to actively participate in all the activities of the Acceleration Programme and assisting future developments of the programme.
Have access to reliable internet connection.
Have a good working knowledge of English language

BIC Africa Online Acceleration Programme Details

The core programme will include:

6 online interactive training modules (each lasting 1.5 hours), on topics such as Mission and Unique Value Proposition; Product Development; Business Model; Team & Partnerships; Finance; Marketing.
4 online group coaching sessions (each lasting 1.5 hours), on topics such as Leadership and influencing skills; Mastering personal and business finances; Storytelling and pitch training; Time management and prioritisation.
2 Networking sessions (at the beginning and at the end of the programme)
Access to support documents and recordings of the sessions
Integration in the BIC Africa Community of women entrepreneurs, with visibility on the BIC Africa website, integration into the LinkedIn group for this Community, as well as access to other networking and market linkage opportunities and events.

BIC Africa Online Acceleration Programme Benefits

The programme will also open the door for further opportunities and awards:

A Certificate of recognition will be sent in an electronic format by EBN – BIC Africa project for those who successfully completed the 12-week course acceleration programme (attending at least 9 out of the 12 sessions).
Remote one-to-one Mentoring sessions will be offered to high performing participants selected by the BIC Africa expert committee, who as such will get the chance to be matched with a European incubation expert who will accompany their growth trajectory. Further details will be shared at the start of the programme.
Other Business Awards (e.g. additional support, highlighted visibility on BIC Africa website, invitation to participate in a BIC Africa event etc.) will be available to high performing participants selected by the BIC Africa expert committee.

The BIC Africa Acceleration Programme is aimed at helping the 20 participants:

Explore growth and scaling trajectories for their businesses and solutions.
Assess the team competencies and consider how their business model will adapt to the growth phase.
Articulate the social value proposition, identifying why and how the proposed solution contributes to SDGs.
Access to appropriate sector, local, international experts.
Join a vibrant community of women entrepreneurs, where to learn, exchange and connect.
Connect with BIC Africa and the European Business Innovation Centre Network (EBN) to unleash the impact of women entrepreneurs (see: https://ebn.eu/).