By Nchendzengang Tatah
Female entrepreneurs have been schooled on securing funding through the Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (IYBA-WE4A) Programme. The project spans eight countries across the continent including Cameroon.
The IYBA-WE4A Programme is put up in a collaboration between the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). Some 1000 women are expected to benefit. Each selected beneficiary will receive USD $ 5,000 non-refundable seed capital, equivalent to approximately CFA 2.8 million.
They will further benefit from “tailored business management training, a customised green curriculum, mentorship, and lifetime access to TEFConnect for sustained growth and investment readiness,” an October 6, 2025 release read. Applicants have till January 6, 2026, to apply.
The exchanges of November 20 at the Star Land Hotel at Bonapriso – Douala, served as a platform to equip female entrepreneurs with the necessary know-how on getting the grant. Key areas of the project’s impact will be in sustainable agriculture, blue economy, renewable energy, circular economy, ecotourism, construction and logistics.
Grace Matthew, the Digital Media Officer of The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), explained that the interest in the green economy was in line with the needs of Africa today. She outlined that Africa had the greater portion of the world’s youngest population and needed to be at the forefront of providing solutions.
In the first cohort, some 751 women were empowered with USD $3.99 million. A move which is considered to have accelerated the green economy, exposing the potential of the continent’s women says Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO of TEF.
Rosette Fien, CEO of Kayvey Nutrifood, a 2016 alumnus of the programme, admitted that it had been of great help in boosting her enterprise. Nonetheless, she was particular that women faced peculiar challenges in the sector, including trust from suppliers. Her experience for nine years informs her conviction that women can make it through, especially with the support of the funding.
