AWIEF-NedBank Women Enterprise Growth & Export Programme 2026 for South African women Entrepreneurs. – Opportunities For Africans

Application Deadline: 7 September 2026

Applications at the moment are open for the 2026 AWIEF-NedBank Women Enterprise Growth & Export Programme. A totally funded 12-month enterprise and provider improvement programme for established, black women-owned, product-based companies in South Africa — constructed to develop your capability, your patrons and your markets.

The Nedbank–AWIEF Women Enterprise Growth and Export Programme is a 12-month enterprise and provider improvement programme for established, black women-owned, product-based companies in South Africa. It is designed to assist collaborating companies strengthen their operations, enhance their monetary and market readiness, and entry bigger company, retail, public-sector, regional and worldwide Opportunities.

It types part of a three-year partnership between Nedbank and AWIEF that can assist 75 black women-owned SMMEs, with 25 companies chosen for every annual cohort. Selected companies obtain sensible enterprise development coaching, a person enterprise diagnostic and improvement plan, teaching, technical mentoring, provider and retail-readiness assist, monetary and investment-readiness assist, export improvement and market-access linkages

Requirements

• ✓Be a minimum of 51% owned by black women
• ✓Qualify as an Exempted Micro Enterprise (EME) or Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE)
• ✓Be legally registered and working in South Africa
• ✓Be post-revenue, at present buying and selling and serving paying prospects
• ✓Be product-based — producing, manufacturing, processing, assembling, packaging, formulating or distributing bodily merchandise
• ✓Operate in one of many precedence sectors listed under
• ✓Be trying to increase market entry nationally, regionally, intra-Africa and internationally
• ✓Nominate a girl proprietor who can decide to the total 12-month programme

Priority Areas

The programme is open to product-based companies within the following eleven sectors.

• Agriculture & Agro-processing
• Manufacturing
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Cleaning & Hygiene
• Textile, Apparel & Accessories
• Beauty, Wellness & Personal Care
• Tourism & Hospitality
• Design & Craft
• Building & Construction
• Green Economy & Renewable Energy
• Circular Economy

Application Timeline:

• 12 August 2026: Applications Open
• 7 September 2026: Applications Close

Phase I · September – October 2026

Screening & Selection

• Application screening and shortlisting
• Due diligence and structured interviews
• Final collection of 25 collaborating companies

Phase II · 10–11 November 2026

Official Launch & Bootcamp

• Programme launch on the AWIEF2026 Conference & Exhibition, CTICC, Cape Town
• In-person two-day bootcamp

Phase III · November 2026 – October 2027

Programme Implementation

• Training, teaching, mentoring, diagnostics and market-access assist

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the AWIEF-NedBank Women Enterprise Growth & Export Programme