Description
The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to implement the 2024 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Cameroon. AWE is a U.S. Department of State-led initiative around the globe to support gender equity and equality by promoting women’s economic opportunities and giving enterprising women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses. The U.S. Embassy Yaounde Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) invites proposals to design and implement a three-month training program in the summer or fall of 2024 to train 40 women social entrepreneurs for AWE in Cameroon. The program will be a hybrid model, combining the U.S. online platform DreamBuilder or Thunderbird’s 100 Million Learners courses, with localized in-person mentorship and facilitation. Successful projects will harness the power of public-private sponsors, local partnerships, and U.S. exchange alumni networks to help participating women and their business grow, driving localized prosperity. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Program Objectives: · Equip participants with knowledge and skills from both U.S. and Cameroonian training materials to build and scale up sustainable businesses. · Expand participants’ understanding of social enterprise models. · Foster participants’ ability to promote economic opportunities for women and increase the number of women-led businesses. · Facilitate the development of a network of female entrepreneurs and investors to grow women businesses and drive local partnerships. Project Activities: Phase 1: Develop and Recruit · Develop a curriculum and training materials. · Identify, recruit, and train facilitators and mentors from the USG alumni community, American Chamber of Commerce, and African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) network. · Announce, conduct outreach, and recruit participants. · Produce a facilitation guide for business incubators and social entrepreneurs to use in supporting women’s economic empowerment. Proposals should provide a recruitment strategy for recruiting target participants and specify how the Embassy would be involved. Phase 2: Train the Cohort Organize a 3-day AWE Bootcamp with an official launching ceremony in Yaounde. · Facilitate training of the online DreamBuilder or Thunderbird’s 100 Million Learners courses through weekly virtual or in-person sessions to discuss challenges, share best practices, and receive guidance from facilitators. · Organize activities that integrate localized content to supplement the online DreamBuilder or Thunderbird’s 100 Million Learners courses. · Establish a support network among participants to foster peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. Proposals are encouraged to incorporate a variety of interactive activities, workshops, field trips, case studies, and other learning experiences to help participants develop their entrepreneurship skills. Phase 3: Milestone Finale Organize a 2-day final gathering on “Women’s Investment Network” in Douala to showcase AWE participants and alumnae’ businesses, connect them with potential investors, and increase their access to funding opportunities. Session topics include, but are not limited to: § Addressing the unique challenge, needs, and opportunities of women entrepreneurs in accessing investment. § Inviting potential investors to participate in the forum and provide funding opportunities for promising women-led businesses. § Conducting a pitch competition where selected AWE participants and alumnae present their business plans to a panel of investors. § Conducting a social media campaign to showcase AWE success stories. Proposals are encouraged to include ideas for follow-on activities after program implementation. Please note that this award would not cover the costs of any such follow-on activity, which would be subject to additional funding resources. Participants and Audiences: The 2024 AWE participants will consist of 40 Cameroonian women entrepreneurs who: · Reside in Cameroon. · Own social enterprises or businesses focused on professional development, business incubation, or startup support for women. · Have 2-5 years of business experience and demonstrate computer proficiency and internet access. · Are recruited from all 10 regions of Cameroon via a competitive application process.