Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
Digital African Woman (DAW) and LEAP Africa have entered a partnership aimed at giving African women entrepreneurs greater access to markets, mentorship and growth capital. The announcement alongside the official launch of DAW Marketplace at the fifth edition of LEAP Africa’s Leadership Accelerator Programme (LAP) Physical Bootcamp in Nairobi.
The tie-up brings together LEAP Africa’s work developing young women leaders through its Leadership Accelerator Programme with Digital African Woman’s decade of building entrepreneurial ecosystems for African women. The two organisations say the goal is to connect emerging leadership talent directly with markets, mentorship and sustainable business opportunity, rather than leaving participants to fend for themselves once a training programme ends.
“Women do not need another programme that ends when the workshop ends. They need a community that continues long after the applause fades, where learning meets opportunity and entrepreneurs discover not only customers, but collaborators,” said HRM Khadijat Adbulkadir, founder and Executive Director of Digital African Woman.
Digital African Woman is a Belgium-based social enterprise focused on the economic empowerment of African women through entrepreneurship, digital skills, mentorship, financial literacy, technology and business development. Since 2016, it says it has reached more than 20,000 women across Africa and Europe, spanning 26 European countries and multiple African markets.
Adbulkadir argues that Africa’s central problem is not a lack of talent but a lack of systems that reliably connect that talent to opportunity, framing the DAW–LEAP Africa collaboration as a direct answer to that gap.
Through the partnership, DAW Marketplace will connect African women entrepreneurs, including LAP participants and alumni, to markets, mentorship, technology-enabled commerce, access to finance and a pan-African community of founders and business leaders.
Entrepreneurs can join the platform as sellers either as members of the DAW cooperative or through a monthly subscription. As part of the deal, 31 LAP participants from 12 African countries will get free access to DAW Marketplace for 12 months, a benefit the organisations value at a combined $20,000, to help them start, scale and build their businesses.
“The Leadership Accelerator Programme has always been about more than developing leadership competencies; it is about ensuring that young African women have access to the opportunities, partnerships, and support systems they need to thrive long after the programme ends,” said Amabelle Nwakanma, Director of Programmes & Partnerships, LEAP Africa.
She added, “Our partnership with Digital African Woman strengthens that commitment by connecting our participants and alumni to a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem where they can access markets, mentorship, and a community that supports their continued growth.”
