Enabel Awa Competition for Entrepreneurs Women In Belgian Countries 2022 | The Awa Prize is a competition organised by Enabel which highlights women entrepreneurs from Belgian development cooperation countries and their projects. The Awa Prize celebrates the work of women who have a positive impact on their communities through their business. Read through on how to apply.
Entrepreneurship knows no borders and no gender. All over the world, women and men are enlivening their communities through their businesses. Nonetheless, a woman entrepreneur’s path is often strewn with obstacles which make her project more difficult to materialise. For example, inequalities linked to social norms, the time given to family care, difficulties in accessing the market and financing, or physical and psychological violence based on gender are obstacles for many women.
Nonetheless, a woman entrepreneur’s path is often strewn with obstacles which make her project more difficult to materialise. For example, inequalities linked to social norms, the time given to family care, difficulties in accessing the market and financing, or physical and psychological violence based on gender are obstacles for many women.
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The Awa Prize is a contest which sheds the light on businesses and the women who lead them. But beyond this competition, the Awa Prize aims at federating a community of entrepreneurs around shared values, in order to fight against socio-economic inequalities.
Through the Awa Prize, many events will be organised at the local and international levels in order to raise awareness for men and women about the opportunities that women’s entrepreneurship can create. These events will enable progress on actions which can be developed to remove the persistent obstacles.
Each year, 12 entrepreneurs from the Belgian development cooperation are awarded a prize. In each category, three entrepreneurs will be highlighted and will receive the first, second and third prize respectively.
Competition categories:
Candidates may choose to apply in one of the following categories:
1 Start-up category: This award is for companies that have been in existence for at least one year and no more than three years when the Competition is launched.
2 Scale-up category: This award is for companies that have been in existence for three years or more when the Competition is launched.
3 Innovation category: This award is intended for any company that develops particularly innovative products, services and/or approaches.
4 People’s choice category: This award is open to any company in the Start-up, Scale-up or Innovation categories wanting to compete for the People’s Choice via an online vote.
Competition categories
1st Prize:
- Up to €50,000 -Spent to support/coaching, based on your company’s needs.
- One week in Belgium to meet entrepreneurship circles and inspire one another.
2nd Prize:
- Up to €10,000 – Spent to support/coaching, based on your company’s needs.
3rd Prize:
- Up to €5,000 – Spent to support/coaching, based on your company’s needs.
NOTE: Prizes are awarded after an assessment of the needs of the Winners by the Organiser or by an entity designated by the Organiser. The support plan is to be formalised by the Winners or the Candidates receiving a prize and the Organiser.
Eligibility:
To apply to the Awa Prize, you must:
- Be a woman of legal age in her country residence
- Have the Nationality of one participating country
- Be the (co-) founder and/or non-minority shareholder of a company which has registered for at least 1 year in a participating country.
Participating countries for the 2022 edition:
Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DRC, Guinea, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Palestine, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda.
How To apply:
The Awa Prize is a competition organised by Enabel which highlights women entrepreneurs from Belgian development cooperation countries and their projects. Click here to apply
Application Timeline:
1 October 2022 – 24 October 2022
Registration for Awa Prize 2022.
24 October 2022 – 6 November 2022
Pre-selection of the candidates.
7 November 2022 – 25 November 2022
Interviews with the selection committee.
28 November 2022 – 2 December 2022
28 November 2022 – 11 December 2022
Interviews with the final jury.
Public vote.
21 January 2023 – 28 January 2023
Knowledge transfer and networking in Belgium.
24 January 2023
Award ceremony in Brussels.
