Promoting female leadership
in Côte d'Ivoire

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world. In 2019, nearly 42% of the working population, excluding the agricultural sector, were self-employed or employers, according to the World Bank. Women make up the majority of the self-employed workers. Based on a study by the strategy consulting firm Roland Berger, in 2017 Africa had the highest rate of women entrepreneurs in the world (24%), far ahead of Southeast Asia and the Pacific (11%), the Middle East (9%) and Europe and Central Asia (6%).

This strong dynamism, however, has the effect of veiling ongoing inequalities, as women do not have the same opportunities as men in the labor market and their activities remain mostly informal. According to a report by the Confédération Générale des Entreprises de Côte d'Ivoire (CGECI), only 15% of Ivorian formal businesses are owned by women. This implies that there are considerable hidden potentials for women owned businesses to exploit.

Eliminating gender inequalities and empowering women, especially women entrepreneurs, can significantly contribute to the economic development of African countries. In this regard, Invest for Jobs supports the SEPHIS Foundation with its African Women of the Future (AWF) program which offers young women the opportunity to acquire managerial skills, create jobs and become role models in the Ivorian business ecosystem. 

The African Women of the Future (AWF) project is a mentoring and leadership training program created in 2018 by the SEPHIS Foundation, an Ivorian NGO. Its goal is to provide opportunities for young women entrepreneurs by giving them access to a wider network of potential partners, building their capacity for strategically managing their businesses, and offering them one-on-one coaching to help them meet their daily professional challenges.

Each year, one or two classes of 36 young women are selected. Selection criteria include the innovative nature of the candidates' activities, as well as their potential to create jobs for other women. AWF is only open to young women living in Côte d'Ivoire, aged between 18 and 35, with a high school or equivalent diploma. Candidates are also expected to have created a private initiative or business for at least two years, regardless of the sector of activity. 

Over a period of six weeks (three weeks of face-to-face training and three weeks of online training), the program offers classes on leadership, gender issues, and project development strategies. As an additional element to the course, the participants are individually mentored by public and private sector officials and civil society leaders.

In tandem, AWF provides special assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) run by women to increase their visibility, facilitate their access to new markets and financing opportunities and make them leaders within the private sector.  In this regard, AWF organizes each year in Abidjan the International Women's Leadership Forum (FILF), an exhibition and sales showcase of products and services marketed by women entrepreneurs who are beneficiaries of the program. 

Between 2020 and 2025, Invest for Jobs supported and trained five cohorts totaling 324 women entrepreneurs. This program enabled them to formalize their businesses and expand their activities. Through a strategic partnership between SEPHIS Foundation and Ecobank, AWF project beneficiaries also gained access to essential financing for their growth. As of February 2025, the project has created 234 jobs within the businesses led by these women entrepreneurs and contributed to improving the working conditions of 376 existing jobs — through increased income, access to personal development programs, ongoing training, and enhanced social protection. 

The African Women of the Future (AWF) program run by the SEPHIS Foundation is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition" of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).