The WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026 for Women Social Entrepreneurs. – Opportunities For Africans

Application Deadline: March 8, 2026

Applications are actually open for the 2026 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge. Launched on the UN General Assembly in 2018 by the UN Secretary‑General, the President of the World Bank, and the Council of Women World Leaders, the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge is the primary world competitors recognizing revolutionary ladies entrepreneurs advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and provoking communities to construct a extra sustainable and equitable world by 2030. 

In 2026, 5 regional awardees will likely be chosen to take part in occasions surrounding Climate Week NYC and the 81st United Nations General Assembly, September 19–26, 2026. Awardees will take part in a high-impact agenda that includes pitch workshops, tailor-made trainings from main companions, and curated networking with world leaders in enterprise, coverage, and philanthropy. The week will conclude with a dynamic pitch competitors hosted by style icon, philanthropist, and Vital Voices Board Member Diane von Furstenberg at her New York studio, the place awardees current their enterprises to a distinguished panel of judges for an opportunity to win grant funding.

Eligibility Requirements

Finalists will likely be required to supply audited monetary data as part of the vetting course of.

• You have to be no less than 21 years outdated by August 1, 2026.
• You should determine as a girl entrepreneur.
• You should lead decision-making inside your entity.
• Your enterprise or group should have been in operation for no less than three years as of August 1, 2026.
• You should make use of no less than three full-time workers or full-time equivalents.
• Your enterprise or group should generate a minimal of USD $75,000 in annual income. For nonprofit organizations, income could comprise donations, grants, and funds raised by numerous fundraising actions.
• You have to be professionally proficient in English.
• You have to be no less than 21 years outdated by August 1, 2026.

Application Requirements

Applicants will likely be requested to supply:

• Basic figuring out data about themselves and their enterprise, together with the area that greatest displays their main nation of operation:
  • Asia–Pacific
  • Europe and North America
  • Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Middle East and North Africa 
  • Sub‑Saharan Africa
• Responses describing how their work pertains to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their imaginative and prescient for contributing to a sustainable future.
• Information on how they foster gender equality inside their enterprise or group and within the broader neighborhood.
• Security questions, social media data (if relevant), and settlement to the competition’s phrases and situations.
• A two‑minute video, submitted in keeping with the rules under and supplied within the application itself.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge