Deadline: 05-Sep-2025
The Women in Digital Business Program, a pioneering initiative by AM-Steve House, in partnership with the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC/ILO) and Microsoft Philanthropies is designed to empower African women entrepreneurs to thrive in the digital economy by providing the tools, training, and support needed for sustainable business growth and formalization.
The WiDB program addresses these challenges, offering a holistic approach to equip women entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge, and resources to harness the power of digital technologies and formalize their businesses.
The WiDB program combines foundational training, optional learning paths, and advanced formalization support to equip participants with the skills and resources needed to thrive in today’s digital-first world. The program will initially train 100 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria during the pilot phase, followed by another 400 women from across the region in the follow-on pilot phase. The incubation phase will expand to 5,000 women entrepreneurs, with a full rollout to reach 50,000 entrepreneurs from across Africa over a three-year period and across 22 cohorts.
The program offers foundational training on digital skills, including building an online presence and selling online. It also provides internationally recognized ILO SIYB courses to enhance business planning and execution, and offers formalization support to help businesses transition into fully compliant enterprises. The program gives priority selection to women entrepreneurs from partnerships.
The WiDB Program is structured into three progressive phases to meet the needs of aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. The first phase, the Foundations Program on Digital Skills, is where participants will develop skills essential for digital entrepreneurship. This includes learning why digitalization is important, how to build an online presence, how to sell online, and how to adapt business processes with digital tools. By the end of this phase, participants will have created a personalized Digitalization Action Plan. The second phase is the globally recognized Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Training by the ILO. This offers three modules: “Generate Your Business Idea” to help identify and evaluate potential business ideas; “Start Your Business” which includes intensive workshops for developing a business plan; and “Improve Your Business” which focuses on marketing, record-keeping, planning, and productivity. The final phase is the Formalization Course, where participants get tailored support to transition into formal and compliant businesses.
Key features include assistance with business registration and funding for registration fees, regulatory compliance advisory services, and support for branding and marketing. Outstanding participants will also receive follow-on support, such as investment readiness training and fundraising assistance. To be eligible for the WiDB Program, you must be a woman between the ages of 18 and 60. You must reside in one of the 55 African countries and be an aspiring or existing entrepreneur with a business idea or an operational enterprise. Preference will be given to women who lead non-tech MSMEs.
For more information, visit WiDB.