A new cohort of women entrepreneurs from across Africa has been selected into the second intake of the Green Acceleration Programme (GAP), a finance-readiness initiative that is rapidly positioning itself as a critical pipeline for investable, female-led climate ventures on the continent.
Announced by WomHub, the programme brings together 15 founders operating at the intersection of sustainability, technology and inclusive growth sectors increasingly central to Africa’s economic trajectory.
Backed by the Women for Green Jobs in Africa (WE4D) programme, commissioned by Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), co-funded by the European Union under Team Europe Initiatives and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), GAP reflects a growing alignment between development finance and private capital in scaling Africa’s green economy.
At its core, GAP is designed to solve access to capital, a structural constraint that has long limited African entrepreneurship. While the continent hosts some of the world’s fastest-growing startup ecosystems, female founders receive less than 2% of venture capital funding globally. This gap is even more pronounced in Africa’s climate-tech segment. WomHub’s intervention targets this imbalance directly by preparing women-led ventures to meet investor standards, navigate compliance frameworks and unlock blended finance.
A cohort built for scale in the green economy
The selected founders represent a cross-section of industries from clean energy and sustainable agriculture to green consumer goods and circular economy solutions. Notably, the programme places African startups at the centre of its mandate, reinforcing the continent’s role not just as a climate risk zone, but as a source of scalable solutions.
Among the cohort are:
- Andiswa Tsewana — Imijelo yeAfrika (Pty) Ltd
- Carol Nkalanga — Carben Investments Pty LTD
- Chelsey Khwela — KCHELSEY
- Justine Poonisammy — SELF CULTURE
- Kagiso Masilela — Bubble Shine Cleaning Detergents and Services
- Michelle-Erin Sibiya — Petronova Energy (Pty) Ltd
- Mokgadi Rapetswa — Triple Shine
- Mpelegeng Magoro — Lelos Tasty Foods
- Nthabeleng Ramashoai — Peaceful Africa
- Priscilla Morobe — Akanyang Business Solutions Pty Ltd
- Rirhandzu Nyathi — IndigiBites
- Sibahle Siganga — Huma Holdings
- Tebogo Modisane — Ha Se Lehola
- Thando Khanye — Bustani Trading Enterprise
- Thobile Moholela — Tanisa Nolita Keagan Greenhouse Technology
Each venture enters the programme with a defined ambition to transition from early-stage operations to investment-grade businesses capable of attracting institutional and private capital.
From incubation to capital markets
WomHub’s model extends beyond traditional incubation. The organisation operates as a hybrid platform combining venture acceleration, advisory services and a proprietary data-driven ecosystem focused on women in STEM and entrepreneurship. Its infrastructure includes an Imagineering Lab for rapid prototyping, AI-enabled tools for digital safety and cybersecurity awareness and a global database connecting women engineers and founders.
The GAP initiative sits within this broader architecture, acting as a financial bridge between innovation and capital markets. Thirty entrepreneurs are selected per cycle to undergo a structured finance-readiness journey a process that includes investor engagement, governance alignment and scaling strategies tailored to green enterprises.
This approach aligns with a broader shift in African venture ecosystems, where investors are increasingly prioritising climate resilience, ESG compliance and measurable impact. According to industry estimates, Africa requires over $3 trillion in climate finance by 2030, yet current flows remain a fraction of that need. Programmes like GAP are emerging as critical intermediaries, translating grassroots innovation into bankable opportunities.
Implications for African entrepreneurship
The implications extend well beyond the cohort itself. As climate volatility intensifies from energy shocks to agricultural disruption, the demand for locally built, scalable solutions is accelerating. Female entrepreneurs, particularly those embedded in community-driven value chains, are increasingly recognised as key actors in this transition.
By focusing on investor readiness, GAP addresses a persistent bottleneck: many African startups fail not due to lack of innovation, but due to gaps in financial structuring, compliance and market positioning. Closing this gap could unlock significant capital flows into underfunded segments of the economy.
Moreover, the programme reinforces a strategic pivot in development finance from grant-based support to investment-led growth. By aligning with institutions such as BMZ, the EU and GIZ, WomHub is effectively embedding African startups within global capital ecosystems, a move that could recalibrate how early-stage ventures on the continent scale.
A signal to the market
For investors, the emergence of curated, investment-ready pipelines like GAP reduces risk and increases deal flow quality in a market often perceived as fragmented. For founders, it offers a structured pathway to capital that integrates technical support, market access and investor visibility.
As Africa’s green economy gathers momentum, the second cohort of the Green Acceleration Programme signals a more deliberate, system-level approach to entrepreneurship that is inclusive, climate-aligned and increasingly capital-efficient.
In a funding environment defined by caution and selectivity, that may prove to be its most valuable currency.
