The winds of change are sweeping across Africa’s entrepreneurial landscape and women founders in the green and tech space are being called to the frontlines. Two transformative accelerator programs the De Beers Group Trailblazer Accelerator 2025 and the Green Acceleration Programme 2025 have opened their doors to applications, offering women entrepreneurs in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa a rare opportunity to lead Africa’s sustainable future.
The De Beers Group Trailblazer Accelerator is a high-impact six-month hybrid programme running from July to December 2025, focused on women founders and co-founders innovating in waste reduction, biodiversity, circular economy, green energy transition and STEM-driven sustainability. The accelerator is more than training it’s a launchpad, arming participants with tailored mentorship, financial coaching, peer networks and business development support through a powerful sustainability lens.
But that’s not all.
In South Africa, the Green Acceleration Programme 2025, powered by WomHub and supported by GIZ, has also announced it is accepting applications. This finance readiness programme is laser-focused on empowering 30 South African women entrepreneurs operating within the green economy. Through a strategic curriculum, the programme will guide participants in compliance, investor readiness, mentorship and ultimately unlocking capital for meaningful business growth. It’s a clear path to building businesses that are not only sustainable but investment-ready.
These initiatives are not simply about training. They are about rewriting the narrative. For far too long, women-led green and tech ventures in Africa have existed in the shadows of underfunding, exclusion and systemic oversight. These programmes are beacons of a new era one where African women do not beg for seats at the table, they build the table themselves.
The Trailblazer Accelerator is open to startups based in Botswana, Namibia, or South Africa, with the deadline for applications set for 20 June 2025. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/dh_HyNGF. For full details: https://lnkd.in/dDPirxXv.
