Complete the Foundational Course by

Shortlisting Applicants

Pre-selection Bootcamp

Pitch Day

Due Diligence

Seedfunding

The Bold Women Cohort is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections.  

 &nbsp;

The Bold Women Cohort is implemented in partnership with GIZ African Union Aware Project.

 &nbsp;

If you are a women-led business looking to grow your business operations, with a proven business model and market traction, and are committed to making significant social or economic impact, we invite you to apply through your hub partner on the NSSF Hi-Innovator program. 

 &nbsp;

The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is looking for women-owned businesses in Agriculture, Fashion and Beauty, Waste management, Light manufacturing and health. 

large_GNN2a9DXwAAhizF.jpg

medium_GNN2a9DXwAAhizF.jpg

small_GNN2a9DXwAAhizF.jpg

thumbnail_GNN2a9DXwAAhizF.jpg

GNN2a9DXwAAhizF.jpg

The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur

**WEDNESDAY, 4TH SEPT. 2024 

NTINDA, KAMPALA:**  

&nbsp;

9 women entrepreneurs were selected to each receive $20,000 from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort. 

&nbsp;

The event that took place on Wednesday gathered women-owned businesses in Agriculture, fashion and beauty, waste management and digital economy who presented before a carefully selected team of investment experts and were evaluated based on the understanding of their business models, their impact and scalability and their financial viability. 

&nbsp;

Speaking at the event, Flavia Rita Babirye, an alumnus of the previous cohort, said that the programme has helped her refine her business model and understand how to navigate the challenges her business faces as she moves towards scale. “Mkazipreneur has enabled me understand more than just the financial elements of the programme but fully understand my target market and unit economics which will push my business to the next level. When I pitched in the Women Accelerator, I was not selected because I had no product focus while being all over the place and so it seemed that I was spreading my business thin without making revenue” she said.  

&nbsp;

The NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections. The NSSF Hi-Innovator Bold Women Cohort is implemented with support from GIZ African Union Aware Project [https://www.giz.de/en/aboutgiz/profile.html ](link)

&nbsp;

Together with GIZ African Union, Mkazipreneur had 5 regional outreaches to give a chance to all women entrepreneurs across Uganda looking to grow your business operations, with a proven business model and market traction, and are committed to making significant social or economic impact. 

&nbsp;

Sarah Reinharu, Advisor for Gender and Communication at GIZ African Union, expressed her enthusiasm for collaborating with Mkazipreneur, highlighting the strong alignment between the organization's values and the key focus areas of GIZ African Union. "We are thrilled to partner with Mkazipreneur, as they are deeply committed to the financial empowerment of women," she said. "Mkazipreneur exemplifies both the financing and empowerment of women in the country, making them a valuable partner in our shared mission." 

&nbsp;

The nine selected businesses stand a chance to unlock $20,000 from the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme, access debt capital of up to UGX 200 million from KCB Bank Uganda, be exposed to investors through match making events & Deal rooms and exchange program opportunities with like-minded women entrepreneurs from other countries. 

&nbsp;

Immy Nakyeyune, Team Lead of Mkazipreneur, congratulated the Bold Women Cohort entrepreneurs on their journey, emphasizing their embodiment of what it means to be bold women entrepreneurs—resilient, determined, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. She expressed gratitude to the funding partners including NSSF Uganda and Mastercard Foundation, and partners supporting the execution of the Bold Women Cohort program, including Outbox Uganda and GIZ African Union, as well as additional partners like Prudential Uganda and KCB Bank Uganda that contributed to various community activities.

&nbsp;

Mkazipreneur has diligently prepared the Bold Women Cohort entrepreneurs to meet the standards of the Investment Committee through an extensive process of business analysis, expressions of interest, a pre-investment bootcamp, and pitch practice sessions. The selected businesses represent diverse sectors, including agriculture, processing, skincare, and luxury goods. 

&nbsp;

The winners of the seed funding will be announced later in the day, based on their ability to meet the Investment Committee’s criteria. These include demonstrating the potential to scale profitably with the right technical and financial support, creating employment opportunities, and implementing efficient business management systems to ensure long-term sustainability. 

 &nbsp;

Ends............................................................................................... 

 &nbsp;

 Notes to the editor: 
 
 &nbsp;

Number of Small & Growing Businesses seed funded under Mkazipreneur by the NSSF Hi-Innovator Programme to date – 30 women entrepreneurs, total is $600,000. 

&nbsp;

Number of jobs created since program inception in 2020 – 128,852 

&nbsp;

 

**ABOUT MKAZIPRENEUR:** 

&nbsp;

Mkazipreneur, established in 2018, is a dynamic social enterprise and community platform dedicated to supporting, promoting and empowering women in entrepreneurship. The platform offers affordable resources, skilling, advice, motivation, events, and a supportive community for female small business owners. Mkazipreneur also aims to encourage unemployed women to venture into entrepreneurship, to create positive change in their communities, and address the challenge of limited job opportunities in the formal sector. Despite facing obstacles such as lack of financial funding, limited access to credit facilities due to property ownership restrictions, institutional inefficiencies, regulatory restrictions, lack of confidence and entrepreneurial drive, socio-cultural restrictions, fear of failure, and lack of training, female entrepreneurs are crucial contributors to economic development. Mkazipreneur seeks to support women entrepreneurs in overcoming these challenges and accessing venture capital.  

&nbsp;

Through strategic funding and partnerships, Mkazipreneur has provided pro-bono training to over 10,000 female entrepreneurs, successfully transitioned non-tech-enabled women led businesses into technically adept enterprises, while connecting them to capital and markets for business advancement. By August 2024, Mkazipreneur has unlocked over $1,000,000 in seed funding for women owned businesses in the community. 

 &nbsp;

**ABOUT THE NSSF Hi-INNOVATOR**  

&nbsp;

The Hi-innovator is an initiative of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) supported by the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by Outbox. 

&nbsp;  

The initiative seeks to support Ugandan Entrepreneurs by extending catalytic seed funding, entrepreneurial learning and business development support so that they can become more competitive, high-impact businesses. 

  &nbsp;

As of April 2024, the Hi-Innovator Initiative has trained 34,783 entrepreneurs, availed seed-funding and technical assistance to 368 businesses, built the capacity of 13 ESO partners, reached out to over 163,746 youth and women. The Programme has created and sustained 183,110 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities with 71% being Youth in Work. 

  &nbsp;

Through the Program's Lead Implementing partner, Outbox, the Hi-Innovator has worked across various sectors identifying high-impact businesses to sustainably unlock employment opportunities. 

9 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES RECOMMENDED FOR $20,000 SEED FUNDING AT THE NSSF Hi-INNOVATOR BOLD WOMEN COHORT PITCH DAY BY MKAZIPRENEUR.

large__M9A6465.jpg

medium__M9A6465.jpg

small__M9A6465.jpg

thumbnail__M9A6465.jpg

_M9A6465.jpg

The Bold Women Cohort by Mkazipreneur is designed for women entrepreneurs in Uganda, seeking to expand their business development knowledge, increase their impact measurement and financial management skills, be investment ready and make lifelong connections.  

The Bold Women Cohort is implemented in partnership with GIZ African Union Aware Project.

financing.png

  Raise financing for your business to make it attractive to investors

Financing for Your Business

commun.png

  You need community to thrive with business and entrepreneurship. Join our networks and communities of scale.

Access to Community

learn.png

  Learn the critical business gaps hindering your business' sustained growth.

Foundational Business Knowledge

This exclusive accelerator offers invaluable resources & tailored training sessions including: 

- Mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs 
- Access to seed funding of $20,000 from NSSF Hi-innovator
- Debt capital of up to UGX 200 million from KCB Bank Uganda
- Exposure to investors through match making events & Deal rooms 
- Exchange program opportunities with like-minded women entrepreneurs from other countries. 

Content Not Found (404)!