Women Who Build Africa (WWBA), a community launched by Gwera Kiwana and Thea Sokolowski in 2022 to convene and support women leaders, investors and builders across Africa, has announced that its second annual WWBA Assembly will take place in Nairobi, September 5th-6th, 2024, in partnership with Africa Fintech Summit.
Interested attendees may purchase tickets now via Hustlesasa, or via Africa Fintech Summit. Women founders interested in applying to pitch at the event are encouraged to do so here.
This year’s event will take place across two days: September 5th is dedicated to workshops for founders, including a ‘reverse pitch’ which will see investors on stage presenting their firms to founders. September 6th will include an early stage pitch showcase for 10 women founders from across Africa, plus a full conference day, with panels, fireside chats, discussions, and social events.
“Our first Assembly was incredibly inspiring and effective. Attendees were not afraid to speak up, share insights and ask questions. We learned that many female-led startup founders were already running lucrative businesses, yet struggled to raise funds for their next stage of growth. We saw firsthand that a coordinated effort like the WWBA Assembly generates positive outcomes for female founders, operators and investors and has a net-positive ripple effects on our whole ecosystem. We’re extremely excited to bring this back in an even bigger way this year,” said Gwera Kiwana, WWBA Co-founder, and VP of Partnerships at Onafriq.
The 2024 event follows a highly successful inaugural Assembly, which took place in Nairobi in September 2023, joined by leaders from Ingressive Capital, Open Capital, Founders Factory Africa, Enza Capital, Paystack, Madica, Chui Ventures, Kasha Global, Pezesha, Beyond Capital Ventures, 4DX, Endeavor, Kola Market, Flare, Uncover, Ndovu, BuuPass and many more.
Partner and sponsor Open Capital said of the 2023 event: “We are thrilled to share our experience as a proud sponsor of the WWBA event. It was an inspiring gathering where hundreds of phenomenal women converged at the intersection of venture capital and technology. The Assembly was a powerful reminder of the transformative potential when diverse minds come together.”
The WWBA team is looking for partners and sponsors, as well as speakers and mentors that share their mission and can help make this year’s event a success. Anyone interested in playing a role in the Assembly is encouraged to express interest here.
Women founders invited to participate in the pitch showcase on September 6th will be selected from the applicant pool by a diverse panel of investor partners. Selected founders will also be matched with mentors from the WWBA community to support them ahead of their pitch. Attendance for the event is open to other founders, operators, investors and other members of the WWBA community. Allies are welcome.
Women Who Build Africa (WWBA) was launched in May 2022 by Thea Sokolowski (Stitch) and Gwera Kiwana (Onafriq). Today the community has more than 2000 members across Africa, as well as in the Diaspora. Interested members can join via the website.
For enquiries, contact:
Thea Sokolowski, co-founder, Women Who Build Africa