Twenty-five African female-founded tech startups have been selected for the second edition of The Future is Female Mentorship Programme, which will provide them with insights into the fundamentals of PR and communications and help them understand how to leverage this knowledge to gain visibility and build their brand.
Run by C. Moore Media International Public Relations, a New York-headquartered PR agency focusing on the US, UK, and African markets, the Future is Female Programme aims to provide the underserved market of African female founders of early-stage startups with the PR and communications insights, knowledge, and skills needed to gain visibility and grow their business.
Aimed at African women based on the continent or in the diaspora, launching or growing a tech business for African markets or serving Africans in the diaspora, the programme selected 12 startups for its inaugural edition last year, and has now selected 25 entrepreneurs for the second edition. A total of 180 applications were received from 26 different African countries.
The 2021 mentees include eight from Nigeria, namely Joanne Osuchukwu of Hlink, Ifedolapo Lawal of Afrinovate Technology, Adaobi Eneh of RoboRep, Ibironke Yekinni of Testify, Wunmi Akinsola of Fashtracker, Olarenwaju Erogbogbo of Doing Good Work in Africa, Kosi Ejieji of MyChassis, and Tale Alimi of Owoafara.
South Africa has five representatives, in the form of Thato Schermer from Zoie Health, Gugu Kheswa of Hello Africa Travel, Joshna Nagar of APJ Technologies, Siyanda Mpambani from Pink Torque Projects, and Noxolo Fani of Platform Excel. There are two from Rwanda – Nisingizwe Joselyn of Smart Ikigega Project and Eva Barasa of Valley Hub, and two from Kenya, namely Nancy Passiany of Veesh Africa and Cathy Chepkemboi of Tushop.
The cohort is completed by Prisca Magori, Tenten Explore (Tanzania); Marly Diallo, BRT Energy (Guinea); Selma Ndi Ekfvei, Data Girl Technologies (Cameroon), Fatou Gning, Amal Crowdfunding (Senegal); Heba Eldessouky, As Good As New (Egypt); Rebecca Nanono, Shetechtive (Uganda); Nadege Bolingo, Connecticut Institute for Social Entrepreneurship (DRC); and Setsabile Mkhabela, Boast-ID (Eswatini).
CMM’s managing director and founder Claudine Moore, alongside AfricaCommsWeek’s founders, will lead group masterclass sessions for the selected mentees and participate in Q&A sessions. AfricaCommsWeek will also support CMM in creating content for the customised sessions taking place over three months. The customised sessions will provide insights into PR and communications fundamentals for early-stage tech startups, including creating a communications plan, corporate storytelling, media relations and more.
