Her Startup Opens Applications for Cohort 2 of Women

Her Startup, an accelerator for women-led technology startups in Africa, has opened applications for its second cohort.

The collaborative initiative spearheaded by KSH Foundation, Tomorrow Foundation and EHA Impact Ventures, will equip ten (10) women founders in early-stage to build investment-ready tech businesses. This training programme will be delivered by the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, Founder Institute.

Despite accounting for 58% of Africa's self-employed population, women founders secured less than 1 percent of the more than $2 billion raised by African startups in 2025.

Her Startup was created to help change this reality, providing women entrepreneurs with the training, capital, and networks they need to build and grow successful businesses through a single, integrated programme.

Applications are open to women founders or CEOs aged between 18 and 35, run a tech-enabled business, have been operating for at least six months and generate at least $500 in monthly gross revenue. Founders from Francophone Africa are strongly encouraged to apply for the 2026/2027 cohort.

Speaking on the initiative’s promise, Khalil Halilu, Co-founder of Her Startup and Founder of KSH Foundation said,

The second cohort builds on the success of the pilot programme in 2024/2025, which attracted over 200 applications from 18 African countries. Ten founders were selected for training, and three ventures won funding at the programme's Pitch Day in Lagos in April 2025. Participating founders have since won grants and awards, attracted investor interest, and gained wider visibility for their businesses. The programme itself was featured in international press, highlighting its growing role in supporting African women entrepreneurs.

With the second cohort, the partners aim to build on the pilot and reach more women founders across the continent. For Tomorrow Foundation, Her Startup is about more than closing a funding gap: it is about women leading the future.

The way founders are funded sets the programme apart. Her Startup provides convertible, revenue-based financing, with repayments linked to each company's revenue.

Applications close on 26th October, 2026. Full eligibility criteria, programme details and the application form are available here.