What the Frontrunners are Doing
During 2023 and 2024, GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa initiative and Value for Women collaborated to increase women’s participation in the technology and digital innovation ecosystem in Africa. They worked with a broad range of ecosystem actors and startups to improve their understanding of how to integrate a gender lens in both their internal workplace practises and in their products and services, including through a gender inclusion bootcamp with 25 enterprise support organisations; a gender self-assessment with 21 enterprise support organisations and 42 technology startups across 17 African countries; and in-depth gender-lens technical assistance to 3 of these enterprise support organisations and 3 of these startups.
This report offers insights on the status of gender inclusion in the African ecosystem and learnings which emerged during this collaboration, based on this sample of ESOs and startups with an interest in gender inclusion. It offers actionable recommendations for entrepreneurial support organisations and digital technology startups to further advance gender inclusion and build upon the progress achieved so far.
Make-IT in Africa is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Cavelle Dove has 20 years of international development experience in Southeast Asia and Africa. With a Master's in finance, she has spent a decade working with women entrepreneurs to improve their business skills, and help them access relevant financial products and services. Prior to this, Cavelle was the gender lead for UNCDF, where she established a Fintech Innovation Fund to improve women’s financial capability and led policy engagement to improve workplace gender equality initiatives and develop gender smart financial products with microfinance institutions and private banks.
Luis leads Value for Women's advisory services, strategy and a global team of consultants and advisors. Prior to his work at Value for Women, Luis led research on unpaid care work and time-use data for the United Nations Foundation. From Mexico, Luis has worked extensively in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Southeast Asia. He holds a BSc degree in Business Administration from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business and a Master's degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, USA.
Shoshana is an Advisor – Knowledge Management & Communications at Value for Women. Shoshana oversees product conceptualization and technical writing for the organization's publications, ranging from research and evaluation reports to case studies and podcasts. Shoshana brings over 15 years of international development experience in both leadership and field positions across sectors, notably with the Inter-American Development Bank, Danone, Chemonics, TechnoServe and local non-governmental organizations.
Dr. Silvia Emili oversees, manages and delivers a global portfolio of innovative gender and business projects, ensuring they meet the highest standards. Her zone of expertise is at the intersection of renewable energy and energy access, gender and social inclusion, advising businesses and organizations in this space.
Leah plays a crucial role in supporting the execution of specific projects within practice areas at VfW including aiding in project management, cultivating client relationships, coordinating internally, planning work, and managing project systems and processes. With a deep commitment to fostering gender equality and inclusivity, Leah is a gender specialist with a diverse background in research, international development, human rights, financial inclusion, and energy.
