The Awa Prize, Entrepreneurs with impact, contributes to fostering women’s entrepreneurship throughout most countries where Enabel is active (18 countries + Belgium). The project sheds light on successful entrepreneurs who created companies that have a powerful impact and contribue to respond to current global challenges. The Awa Prize also serves as a global platform to connect impactful entrepreneurs from Belgium and Enabel partner countries with the objectives of enhancing cross-national and continental networking as well as shared learning from experiences.
The main results achieved by the Awa Prize so far:
28 women entrepreneurs supported in enhancing their business:
Between 2022 and 2024, 3 yearly calls for application were organized. These calls allowed 5.435 women entrepreneurs to apply to the Awa Prize. In the end, a multi-disciplinary jury made up of representatives from the public, private and non profit sectors awarded a prize to 28 women entrepreneurs from 14 countries. Active in diverse sectors, such as green and circular economies, culture, digital economy, eco-tourism, services, each Awa Prize winner has been selected based on her positive social, economic and environmental impact. Following their victory in the Awa Prize competition, each laureate has received a prize in the form of tailor-made support to grow their company and their impact(s). This support is used under several forms depending on the company needs: capacity building, networking activities, material purchases, national and international visibility.
6 capacity building activities targeting 394 women (and men) entrepreneurs : throughout the participating countries, and in collaboration with other bilateral projects, the Awa Prize has organized concrete, hands-on capacity building activities in Morrocco, Benin, Jordan, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania. The topics and areas of knowledge were determined based on the Awa Prize experience of accompanying entrepreneurs as well as based on the needs identified among entrepreneurs based on the country, to better fit the learning needs of the entrepreneurs. This way more than 394 people have attended 6 training sessions on various topics such as innovative tools for entrepreneurs, access to funding and training, copyrights, quality control, packaging, personal branding, soft skills, etc.
40 awareness and networking events (2022-2026) : focussing on concrete issues faced by women entrepreneurs in their contexts, and heading towards potential solutions, awareness and networking events have been organized by the Awa Prize. Whether as a forum (Awa Days) or as stand-alone panel discussion or debate evening, such events have taken place in : Belgium, Tunisia, Morocco, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Palestine.
Working in tight collaboration with other Belgian funded initiatives (Ministry of Foreign affairs, Bio, etc.), other Enabel projects and actors of several diasporas, the Awa Prize has become a flagship for the promotion of women’s entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East. In its last year of operation, the project will focus on maximizing the support it can bring to women entrepreneurs in its pool, thus enabling them to gain more visibility, skills and funds that will grow their businesses to their next level.