Female-owned bio-businesses in 12 African countries have been invited to apply for the SANBio FemBioBiz Acceleration Competition, which offers training and the chance to win up to ZAR250,000 (US$18,000) in grant funding.
The competition, for which applications close on April 15, is open to bio-businesses run by female entrepreneurs in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Seychelles, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.
It is seeking ambitious females leading a business in the biosciences arena that want to speed up their business growth, and receive training, mentoring and marketing exposure.
Entrepreneurs selected for participation will receive a free two-day training course, marketing exposure, and membership of a network of like-minded people across borders.
Those selected for the next phase of the programme will receive 2.5 months of intensive business mentorship and training, and the opportunity to meet investors, business experts and potential mentors.
The top performer will receive a grant of ZAR250,000 (US$18,000) to move the business forward, as well as the chance to attend the Slush conference in Finland.
“The programme has been created to develop leadership, technological and business skills in female-owned businesses in the SADC region to support deal-making and business acceleration in the biosciences arena,” the organisers said.
