Accelerator Mentorship Programme for Women-led SMEs in Africa – Final Report
The second cohort of the FAO-IAFN Women SME Accelerator Programme ran from from October 2023 to June 2024. The program partnered with the VALUE4HER Women Agripreneurs of the Year Awards (WAYA) to select the top 50 finalists from the awards to participate in the Programme.
The program continued to receive interest with the WAYA receiving over 1000 applications. 43 English-speaking and 7 French-speaking mentees were selected from 17 African countries. This brings the total number of beneficiaries to date to a total of 100 mentees from 25 African countries (see chart below). This year, the cohort represented a unique set of agri-enterprises strongly focused on innovations that are contributing to food systems transformation on the continent as highlighted above (see chart below). Over 50% of the mentees are engaged in agro-processing activities that are contributing immensely to managing food loss and waste and ensuring food security.
Learn more about the programme and the 2023-2024 activities:
