20 Start-ups Join the 4th Edition of the Future is Female Mentorship Program

The fourth iteration of The Future is Female Mentorship Program, a PR and communications mentorship program dedicated entirely to African female tech founders, has picked twenty African female-founded digital businesses.

The Future is Female Mentorship Program, which will be launched on Africa Day in 2020, is the first and only PR and communications program dedicated solely to African women in technology.

The 2023 edition has been backed by Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, and F6S, which has increased the initiative’s scale and reach.

This fourth round attracted 490 applications from 37 African nations, representing a 42% increase over the 2022 edition. The mentorship program complements and supports the underserved market of African women, and it is one of the fastest-growing communities of African female tech startups on the continent.

The program is gaining international acclaim, and the 20 finalists for the fourth edition were named exclusively in the international business magazine Forbes. This news coverage quickly brings these African female tech founders to the attention of the global business world. The finalists for 2022 and 2021 were unveiled exclusively in Pan-African tech newspaper TechCabal and prominent worldwide business magazine Forbes, respectively.

After completing the Future is Female Mentorship program, the 20 finalists will have insights into the fundamentals of PR and communications for early-stage tech startups. They will also learn how to create a communications plan, storytelling best practices, strategic business communications with multiple stakeholders, how to position their startups for investment opportunities, and much more.

The program is provided remotely, and mentees are asked to engage in masterclasses and sessions tailored to their industry and business.

For the fourth edition, and for the first time, Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program, Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, and F6S worked with The Future Is Female Mentorship Program, joining long-term partners TechCabal and Africa Communications Week. Allison+Partners, one of the international PR industry’s fastest-growing and most inventive global agencies, is currently in charge of the initiative.

Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, which has invested in some of Africa’s top innovative businesses, including Flutterwave and Andela, will hold a masterclass on VC fundraising for the program’s selected mentees as part of the collaboration.

The collaborations allow the Program to deliver additional perspectives, resources, and insights to the Program’s selected female founders, as well as bring world-class and Pan-African PR insights from additional leading professionals, complementing A+P’s global and African regional PR skills.

As part of the collaboration, selected TechCabal team members will hold a masterclass for the 20 finalists on working with tech media and learning how to position their firms to attract the attention of the tech press. The collaboration with AfricaCommsWeek will provide the founders with enhanced Pan-African and multi-market PR skills, which is critical for many female founders whose startups span numerous African countries.

The selected mentees will attend masterclasses presented by TechCabal, Salesforce, and Africa Communications Week in August and September, in partnership with the program’s mentors. Claudine Moore, Managing Director, Africa, Allison+Partners, David Idagu, Africa Regional Consultant, Allison+Partners, and Tope Adubi, Digital Marketing Consultant, Allison+Partners are the program mentors.

From October to December, the mentors will hold one-on-one sessions with the mentees to share insights into early-stage tech startup PR and communications fundamentals such as corporate narrative and communications, media relations, digital marketing, and more.

The 2023 African female tech founders selected from across the continent are listed below…

EGYPT

• Mai Shakweer, Founder of AutoMechanic, which connects car owners in Cairo with local mechanic services and workshops.

KENYA

• Celeste Tchetgen Vogel, Founder of e-Waka Mobility, a full-service platform for businesses to make cheaper, eco-friendly deliveries with tried and tested electric bikes.
•  Juliet (Shiro) Njoroge, Founder of Mosmos Africa, a Save Now Buy Later (SNBL) platform, enabling Kenyans to save-to-buy conveniently with the Mosmos app.
• Natasha Makindu, Founder of Paydel, a social commerce fulfillment platform that aggregates logistics services on demand.
• Fridah Karani, Founder of Hela Money , a next-generation trade platform bridging traditional and digital finance enabling business to build for the future.
• Jackie Kamau, Founder of The Laundry Lady  , an on-demand laundry, dry cleaning service offering convenient pick-up, wash and delivery, with a focus on high quality service at affordable rates.
• Elizabeth Nduta, Founder of Gwiji, which empowers low-income Kenyan women with training and flexible employment.

NIGERIA

•  Al Hassan Keita, Founder of EtioneraPay , an escrow payment gateway built for online and e-commerce user, processing payment and enabling payment for users.
• Jennifer Echenim, Founder of Bloccpay, a crypto-powered payroll solution for global businesses and talents.
• Gold Sylvester, Founder of Traddify, a global remittance platform that allows individuals and businesses to make cross-border payments seamlessly and instantly.
• Ngozi Nwabueze, Founder of PocketLawyers , a Nigerian legal tech startup that offers access to affordable premium legal services and solutions to SMEs and startups.
• Sarah Odiavbara, Founder of Craftmerce , a B2B e-commerce marketplace for African handcrafted enterprises.
• Olawunmi Akalusi, Founder of Rísé NG, a digital platform that seamlessly connect artisans and vendors with consumers.
• Bibi Ikuemonisan, Founder of FarmCorps, an agritech platform providing smallholder farmers in Nigeria with end-to-end market access, loans and more.
• Joy Akparobore, Founder of VAMUZ, a Nigerian e-commerce and logistics platform aimed at the local market.
• Kemi Ogunkoya, Founder of LeaderX , an innovative mobile application enabling African professional networks to bridge talent shortages, leadership gaps and more.

SOUTH AFRICA

• Jacqui Rogers, Founder of My Pregnancy Journey, an app which aims to guide and empower South African/African women with information and expertise on pregnancy, health and parenting.

TANZANIA

• Sophia Abeid, Founder of Vide, a Tanzanian educational video sharing technology for content creators.

TUNISIA

• Rym Bourguiba, Founder of WildyNess, an online platform that offers travelers authentic experiences in Tunisia creating social impact in rural regions

ZAMBIA

• Vwanganji Amatende-Bowa, Founder of Mightyfinance, an SME finance partner building thriving enterprises, that aim to transform lives through the provision of flexible, easy and affordable loans.