Women entrepreneurs are urged to apply for a three-month intensive mentorship and business development programme.
AccelerateHer is a fully-funded business accelerator for South African women entrepreneurs designed to fast-track the development of women-owned businesses.
The initiative was developed by WDB Investment Holdings and Seed Academy, and is calling for its second round of applicants for the 2018 iteration.
Through the three-month intensive training and development programme, Seed Academy identifies high-potential entrepreneurs and businesses, and equips them to be funding-ready, creating a pipeline for the WDB Seed Fund.
Next year, the programme runs from February to May and will be sponsored by Shell, so the applicant's business idea will have to be aligned to Shell's value chain.
Selected entrepreneurs are eligible for access to development opportunities through Shell's enterprise and supplier development programme, and will stand the chance of being rewarded with R50 000 towards their business after the accelerator is done.
Black, female entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35 from Ekurhuleni are invited to submit their entries online, before 30 October.
"While we are seeing some improvements, women entrepreneurs are still underrepresented in relation to the population - a statistic Seed Engine through Seed Academy and the WDB Seed Fund aims to change by providing necessary funding opportunities for promising small and early-stage businesses to become sustainable and successful enterprises," says Donna Rachelson, group CEO of Seed Engine, incorporating Seed Academy and the WDB Seed Fund.
According to findings from Seed Academy's recent real state of entrepreneurship in South Africa 2017 survey, access to funding remains a substantial barrier to growth for many growth stage firms.
The WDB Seed Fund was created to develop sustainable businesses and provide funding to these growth stage companies. The fund focuses on the development of black women and youth entrepreneurs, in particular. It was created by Seed Engine, WDB Investment Holdings and Grovest.
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