Five female founders win over $100,000 in TechFoundHER Africa Challenge

November 23, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge

Winners from Nigeria, Kenya, DRC and South Africa recognised in competition for building tech-enabled businesses solving real market problems

Ten women entrepreneur founders from across Africa pitched their technology businesses at the Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge finale on 19 November 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with five receiving equity-free grants totalling over $100,000. Naspers and Prosus developed the Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge in partnership with Lionesses of Africa, a network of 1.8 million women entrepreneurs across the continent. The partnership enabled the Challenge to reach founders across diverse African markets and sectors. The winners will also receive mentorship from experienced investors and entrepreneurs within the Naspers and Prosus ecosystem, connections to institutional investors, and support navigating business development across African markets.

Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge announced, awarding total of $100,000 in equity-free grants to women-led startups across the continent

October 19, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge

Each year, the Start-Up Night Africa event in The Hague provides a powerful platform to update key stakeholders, partners and women entrepreneurs on key initiatives underway, important to stimulating greater investment in women-founded businesses. At this year’s event on 17 September 2025, Lionesses of Africa founder and ceo, Melanie Hawken, updated the audience on the launch of the exciting Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge. This impactful initiative, created by Global technology group, Naspers and Prosus, and conducted in partnership with Lionesses of Africa, invited applications from women-led tech and tech-enabled startups across the continent. Originally piloted in India earlier this year, the programme launched in Africa as part of their commitment to championing and supporting female founders in technology. Applications closed on 30 September, and the Challenge is now in the first round of screening, where an expert committee will shortlist 30 candidates for further evaluation.

Awards and Accolades: Margaret Hirsch 2018 Women in Business Awards recognize South Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs

November 4, 2018 Melanie Hawken

The Margaret Hirsch 2018 Regional Women in Business Achiever of the Year Awards Evening took place at Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng, South Africa on 2 November. This prestigious event saw over 500 people, including top entrepreneurs and business women from around Gauteng attending the event to see who would be announced as the Regional and Branch winners. The event was co-sponsored by GRUNDIG, one of Hirsch's Homestore's most valued suppliers. Guest Speaker at the event was Melanie Hawken, the founder and CEO of Lionesses of Africa and a Champion of Africa’s Women Entrepreneurs.

2018 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Africa finalists announced

February 27, 2018 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Evelyn Namara, Audrey Cheng, Melissa Bime — L-R: Evelyn Namara, Audrey Cheng, Melissa Bime

The prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, the international business plan competition created in 2006 to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs, has just announced their finalists for Africa for 2018.

African Entrepreneurship Award announces 15 women finalists

November 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

The African Entrepreneurship Award, a $1million prize sponsored by BMCE Bank of Africa for African entrepreneurs with for-profit business ideas that create jobs and improve lives, has just announced the finalists for the 2017 awards. At the start of 2017, 5,349 entrepreneurs from all 54 countries in Africa, and 45 in the diaspora, applied for the Award. Now, one month before the winners are announced, a panel of mentors has selected 41 finalists from 19 African countries, and 39% are women entrepreneurs (15 in total).

Nominate the most inspiring women in tech in South Africa

June 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has launched Inspiring Fifty South Africa with an open call for nominations for inspiring women entrepreneurs in South Africa working in the different spheres of the technology and innovation sector. Inspiring Fifty is a Dutch based non-profit organisation that showcases inspiring female role models in the technology industry in the Netherlands, France, Europe and the Nordics.

4 African Women Entrepreneurs Make the 2017 World Economic Forum 100 Young Global Leaders List

March 19, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Clockwise from Top Left: Chido Govera, Jamila Abass, Rapelang Rabana, Marie Lora-Mungai — Clockwise from Top Left: Chido Govera, Jamila Abass, Rapelang Rabana, Marie Lora-Mungai

Each year the World Economic Forum undertakes an ambitious mission – to scour the world to select 100 young leaders, under the age of 40, who are tackling the world’s most complex challenges with innovative approaches. Not only are women in the majority in this year’s class, but half the intake come from emerging economies, reflecting a trend towards greater diversity in global leadership. Four game-changing women entrepreneurs and socialpreneurs from sub-Saharan Africa make this year’s list.

Meet the 5 women representing Africa as finalists in the 2017 Cartier Women's Initiative Award

February 9, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Cartier has announced the 18 finalists for the 2017 Cartier Women's Initiative Award nominees, and once again it promises to be an inspirational group of game-changers who have made the list. For the past decade, the Cartier Awards has become synonymous with supporting creative excellence from around the world, with more than 160 entrepreneurs from 45 countries being showcased during that period.

Vere Shaba wins the GE Africa Innovation Centre & Lionesses of Africa Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge

December 17, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Screen Shot 2016-12-17 at 4.03.20 PM.png

As part of sponsorship of this year’s Lionesses of Africa 2016 Annual Conference, GE Africa Innovation Centre, General Electric’s newly launched Innovation Centre, based in Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, and serving Sub-Saharan Africa, sponsored an Open Challenge for Women Entrepreneurs. Key qualification criteria for entrants included “a sustainable digital solution to a pressing challenge – or opportunity - ideally focusing on the sectors, and businesses, that GE SSA serves.”

Celebrating 4 Winning Women Entrepreneurs At The 2016 South African Small Business Award Winners

November 11, 2016 Melanie Hawken

The accomplishments of the small business community in South Africa was in the spotlight as winners of the 2016 South African Small Business Awards were announced on 10 November at Montecasino in Fourways, Johannesburg. In its eighth year, the South African Small Business Awards acknowledge the country’s most outstanding businesses and the remarkable people behind them. The awards are hosted by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC).

Finalists announced for the Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2016

October 30, 2016 Melanie Hawken

On 20th October in Cape Town, South Africa, the finalists for the AppsAfrica.com Innovation Awards 2016 were announced, with a shortlist featuring leading mobile and tech companies from across Africa. The annual awards attracted over 200 submissions from 25 countries, chosen by an independent panel of leading industry experts.

5 African Women Entrepreneurs Shortlisted for UNCTAD 2016 Women in Business Awards

July 24, 2016 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Berthe Bonou-Zanou, Fatou Saine Gaye, Aline Wong, Joyce Kyalema, Brenda Omba Kayumba Lacey — L-R: Berthe Bonou-Zanou, Fatou Saine Gaye, Aline Wong, Joyce Kyalema, Brenda Omba Kayumba Lacey

Tran Thi Viet, founder and managing director of Viet Trang Handicraft in Vietnam has been announced as winner of the 2016 Empretec Women in Business Awards by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at a ceremony in Nairobi on 21 July. Five African women were included among the 12 finalists for the awards that celebrate exceptional micro and small businesswomen who have benefitted from Empretec, UNCTAD’s global entrepreneurship training network. Their businesses and their contribution to the socio-economic development in their countries is well worth celebrating.

Enter now! Entries open for inaugural West Africa Mobile Awards

February 6, 2016 Melanie Hawken

The West Africa Mobile Awards (WAMAS), the first truly West African technology awards targeting the leading mobile and tech companies across the region, are now accepting entries. The deadline for entries is the 28th of February and the West Africa Mobile Award Winners 2016 will be revealed over cocktails and canapés at the awards ceremony on April 21st in Lagos, Nigeria.

South Africa's National Gazelles programme launches Small Business Acceleration Programme

October 12, 2015 Melanie Hawken

South Africa's women entrepreneurs are invited to apply for a new accelerator grant, launched by the National Gazelle programme, an initiative of the Department of Small Business and SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency), and which provides both financial and business support.

Only two days left to enter the Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2015

September 8, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Mobile, tech ventures and leading women in Africa have just two days left to submit their entries for the Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2015 to be held in Cape Town on 16 November. Make sure you've applied!

3 South African women selected to participate in the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge in Turkey

August 21, 2015 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Margaret Hirsch, Shona McDonald and Wendy Kemp — L-R: Margaret Hirsch, Shona McDonald and Wendy Kemp

Three South African women entrepreneurs who used adversity to create successful businesses are off to the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge which takes place in Turkey. They are Shona McDonald who manufactures wheelchairs for children with special needs, Margaret Hirsch who co-founded one of South Africa's leading appliance store chains, and Wendy Kemp who founded a leading a credit control company.

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