AWIEF 2025: A Spotlight on Women Driving Change in Africa
Eight African women innovators have been honoured at AWIEF 2025. They have redefined leadership, innovation, and sustainability. This showcases the unstoppable rise of female entrepreneurship in Africa.
Africa Celebrate Its Women Of Impact
The 2025 Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Awards were held in Kigali, Rwanda. The event brought together global investors, policymakers, and thought leaders. They came to celebrate women transforming Africa’s business landscape.
From renewable energy to fintech, these leaders represent the best of Africa’s entrepreneurial future – bold, visionary, and socially conscious.
“African women are not waiting to be empowered; they are empowering economies,” said Irene Ochem, Founder of AWIEF.
2025 AWIEF Honorees
The eight winners reflect the diversity and strength of women’s entrepreneurship across Africa:
1. Dr. Phyllis Wachira (Kenya) – Founder of Med Africa Diagnostics, honoured for building AI-enabled mobile labs improving rural healthcare access.
2. Zeinab Ben Youssef (Morocco) – Awarded for her sustainable-fashion brand turning local fabrics into global exports.
3. Aisha Kalu (Nigeria) – Fintech trailblazer behind PayLink Africa, expanding financial access for small and women-owned enterprises.
4. Sibongile Dlamini (South Africa) – Recognised for leading an all-female engineering firm pioneering solar-energy installations in low-income areas.
5. Djamila Traoré (Côte d’Ivoire) – Agri-innovator connecting women farmers to export markets via digital platforms.
6. Winnie Okello (Uganda) – Founder of EcoPact Recycling, transforming plastic waste into sustainable building materials.
7. Leila Mehari (Ethiopia) – Honoured for her AI-driven educational app improving STEM learning for girls.
8. Ramatoulaye Diallo (Senegal) – Tourism entrepreneur creating community-based travel experiences rooted in culture and sustainability.
Why This Recognition Matters
The 2025 AWIEF Awards come at a crucial time. Women-led ventures are rising rapidly across Africa. However, these ventures continue to face structural barriers in access to finance and markets.
According to AfDB’s AFAWA initiative, the gender-financing gap in Africa still stands at over US $42 billion. Events like AWIEF not only showcase success stories but also mobilise investors and policymakers to close that gap.
“Visibility drives validation, and validation drives capital,” notes Entrepreneurs Cirque. “When women lead visibly, capital follows purpose.”
The Broader Economic Impact
Beyond awards and recognition, African women are reshaping the economic landscape:
Women make up 26 % of Africa’s entrepreneurs – the highest rate in the world. Female founders are driving growth in fintech, healthtech, agribusiness, and creative industries. Women-led businesses reinvest up to 90 % of their income into families and communities.
This means that empowering women entrepreneurs isn’t just social justice – it’s smart economics.
Challenges Still Ahead
Despite their successes, African women entrepreneurs face continued challenges:
•. Limited access to venture capital and loan financing.
•. Insufficient mentorship and technical support. Gender bias within corporate and policy systems.
•. Unequal access to digital infrastructure and education.
Addressing these will require cross-sector collaboration – governments, financial institutions, and global investors working together to make inclusion profitable.
Entrepreneurs Cirque Perspective
At Entrepreneurs Cirque, we believe Africa’s next economic chapter will be written by women not as participants, but as authors.
The recognition of these eight women at AWIEF 2025 is not merely symbolic. It is a call to action for young girls, corporate leaders, and investors. They need to see the potential that lies in female innovation.
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