Local Call: #WomenCall

WIDU.africa recognizes the structural barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in many countries. Despite their potential, women are often excluded from business opportunities and encounter challenges in accessing finance and support networks. In response to this, WIDU has launched a targeted initiative to address these disparities and create opportunities for women-owned businesses in Ethiopia and Tunisia
The #WomenCall is a new instrument that aims to support and empower women entrepreneurs in boosting their businesses and creating jobs.

By focusing on women-owned businesses, WIDU aims to address the gender gap in entrepreneurship and foster an inclusive ecosystem where women can thrive.

Who is eligible to apply in Ethiopia?
• Applicant must be female
• Applicant must be 18 y/o or older
• Applicant must be an Ethiopian national
• Applicant must be the business owner
• The business owner and manager must both be female
• The business must have started its operations for at least 1 year. Business license is not required.
• The business must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprises with not more than 20 employees.
• The business must aim at job creation, particularly jobs for women
• If you have already participated in the WIDU #FoodCall, your project must be fully closed already.

Who is eligible to apply in Tunisia?
• Applicant must be female
• Applicant must be 18 y/o or older
• Applicant must be a Tunisian national
• Applicant must be the business owner
• The business owner and manager must be female
• The business must have started its operations for at least 1 year and is formalized or is in the process of being formalized (i.e. the entrepreneur must prove that she is committed to being formalized by providing the formalization documents to the coach (application for a patent, tax number, etc.).
• The business must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprises with not more than 20 employees.
• The business must aim at job creation, particularly jobs for women.

There are multiple selection criteria that will be taken into consideration:
•    Potential for job creation (Can this business create jobs? For whom can this business create jobs?)
•    Overall coherence of the application (How coherent is the application when it comes to the business description in the relation to the investment plan and its objective? How good is the overall quality of the application?)
•    Degree of innovation (Is it a new or creative type of business? Is it something that does not yet exist very often in the country?)
•    Gender transformative impact (Does the business have a gender transformative impact? Does it help overcoming harmful gender and social norms?) 
•    Sustainability (What are the positive and negative impacts of the business - ecological impact, social impact and economic impact?)
•    Vulnerability (Is the business in an underserved area/ region or from a rural area? Does the applicant have limited other opportunities for access to finance, access to professional coaching and to business networks?)

Important: In general, special consideration will be given to applicants that operate in industries, in which women are underrepresented and to applicants from underserved backgrounds and contexts (e.g. rural areas).

Selected entrepreneurs will receive three 1-on-1 business coaching sessions as well as a financial contribution. The total amount a #WomenCall participant receives is calculated by multiplying your own investment by 2.5

In Ethiopia, the minimum and maximum amounts are:
Example 1 (minimum amounts):
For your investment of 14.500 ETB, you will receive 36,250 ETB as a grant.

Example 2 (maximum amounts):
For your investment of 58.000 ETB, you will receive 145.000 ETB as a grant.

In Tunisia, the minimum and maximum amounts are:
Example 1 (minimum amounts):
For your investment of 1.670 TND, you will receive 4.180 TND as a grant.

Example 2 (maximum amounts):
For your investment of 6.690 TND, you will receive 145.000 TND as a grant.

• The #WomenCall is exclusively for female entrepreneurs with a business located in Ethiopia or Tunisia
• The #WomenCall is a “local thematic call” and a grant instrument of WIDU that does not involve diaspora donors. This means that applicants do not need a diaspora member to apply for the #WomenCall.
• The grant amount is calculated based on the investment amount of the entrepreneur: private investment x 2.5 = grant amount

The application process is entirely online, and you can start your application on www.widu.africa/women.
After the closing of the application period, the most promising applications will be selected. You will be informed of the decision via e-mail.

The #WomenCall is open for applications from 01. July 2023.
Generally, applications will be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis. That means that it is better for you if you apply as soon as possible.

In Ethiopia, the application period will close on 15. August 2023.
In Tunisia, the application period will close on 30. July 2023.

If you have any questions or are facing difficulties with our online application form, you can get in touch with our team
In Ethiopia:
Via Email: ethiopia@widu.africa
Or in person: In Ethiopia, you have the possibility to come and meet us every Thursday afternoon (2-5pm international time) in Addis Ababa at Creative Hub (Mexico, in front of Wasbishebel Hotel)

In Tunisia
Via Email: tunisia@widu.africa

• Applicant must be female, Tunisian and living in Tunisia
• Applicant must be 18 y/o or older
• Applicant must be a Tunisian national
• Applicant must be the business owner
• The business owner and manager must be female
• The business must have started its operations for at least 1 year and is formalized or is in the process of being formalized (i.e. the entrepreneur must prove that she is committed to being formalized by providing the formalization documents to the coach (application for a patent, tax number, etc.).
• The business must be a micro, small or medium-sized enterprises with not more than 20 employees.
• The business must aim at job creation, particularly jobs for women.
- In the case of a 2nd or 3rd participation in WIDU, the entrepreneur must have ended her project on the platform in order to submit her application to the Women Call. Please note that it is forbidden for WIDU entrepreneurs to apply the Women Call using another e-mail address.

Selected entrepreneurs will receive three 1-on-1 business coaching sessions as well as a financial contribution. The total amount a #WomenCall participant receives is calculated by multiplying your own investment by 2.5

In Tunisia, the minimum and maximum amounts are:
Example 1 (minimum amounts):
For your investment of 1.600 TND, you will receive 4.000 TND as a grant.

Example 2 (maximum amounts):
For your investment of 6.600 TND, you will receive 16.500 TND as a grant.

The #WomenCall is open for applications from 01. July 2023. Generally, applications will be reviewed and selected on a rolling basis. That means that it is better for you if you apply as soon as possible. In Tunisia, the application period will close on 30. July 2023.

Applicants and participants can contact us via e-mail tunisia@widu.africa

WIDU.africa ሰራ ፈጠራ ላይ የተሰማሩ ሴቶች የሚገጥሟቸውን መሰናክል እና እንቅፋቶች በሰፊው ተገንዝቧል ። ሴቶች ችሎታ ቢኖራቸውም ብዙውን ጊዜ ከስራ ባለቤትነት ይገለላሉ። የገንዘብ እና የድጋፍ መስመሮችን በማግኘት ረገድ ፈታኝ ሁኔታዎች ይገጥሟቸዋል። ለዚህ ምላሽ ለመስጠት፣ ልዩነቶችን ለመፍታት እና በኢትዮጵያ ባለቤትነታቸው የሴቶች ለሆኑ የስራ ድርጅቶች እድል ለመፍጠር እገዛ ለማድረግ ያለመ እንቅስቃሴን WIDU ጀምሯል.

#WomenCall ሴቶች የስራ ዘርፎቻቸውን እንዲያሳድጉ እና ሥራ ፈጠራ ላይ ለመደገፍ እንዲሁም ለማበረታታት የሚያስችል የድጋፍ ዘርፍ ነው።

በሴቶች ባለቤትነት የተያዙ ስራዎች ላይ በማተኮር የስራ አካባቢው ላይ ያለውን የጾታ ልዩነት ለማስወገድና ሴቶች እራሳቸውን የሚያሳድጉበትን እንዲሁም ጎልተው የሚታዩበትን መጠነ ሰፊ ሥነ ምህዳር ለመፍጠር ጥረት ያደርጋል።

• አመልካች ሴት መሆን አለባቸው
• አመልካቾች 18 አመት ወይም ከዚያ በላይ መሆን አለባቸው
• አመልካቾች ኢትዮጵያዊ ዜኘት ሊኖራቸው ይገባል
• አመልካቾች እራሳቸው የስራው ባለቤት መሆን አለባቸው
• የስራው ባለቤትና ሥራ አስኪያጁ ሁለቱም ሴት መሆን አለባቸው
• ድርጅቱ ቢያንስ ለአንድ አመት ስራውን የጀመረ መሆን አለበት። የንግድ ፈቃድ አያስፈልግም።
• ድርጅቱ ከ20 የማይበልጡ ሰራተኞች ያሉት ጥቃቅን፣ አነስተኛ ወይም መካከለኛ ኢንተርፕራይዞ መሆን አለበት።
• ድርጅቱ በተለይ ለሴቶች ስራ መፍጠር ላይ ያነጣጠረ አላማ ያለው መሆን አለበት
• ቀደም ሲል በWIDU #FoodCall ላይ ተሳትፈው ከነበረ ፕሮጀክቱ ሙሉ በሙሉ የተዘጋ ወይም ሂደቱን የጨረሰ መሆን አለበት።

ከግምት ውስጥ የሚገቡ በርካታ የምርጫ መስፈርቶች አሉ።

• የሥራ ፈጠራ አቅም (ይህ ንግድ ሥራ መፍጠር ይችላል ወይ? ለእነማን ሥራ መፍጠር ይችላል?)

• በአጠቃላይ የማመልከቻው ትርጉም/አላማ (ከኢንቨስትመንት ፕላኑ እና ከዓላማው ጋር በተያያዘ የስራውን መግለጫ በተመለከተ የተጻፈው ነገር ምን ያህል አሳማኝነት አለው? የማመልከቻው አጠቃላይ ጥራት ምን ያህል ጥሩ/ግልጽ ነው?)

• የአዲስ ነገር ይዞ መቷል ወይ (አዲስ የስራ ፈጠራ ነው? በሀገሪቱ ገና ብዙ ሰው ያልተሰማራበት የስራ ዘርፍ ነው?)

• የፆታ ለውጥ ተፅዕኖ (ስራው የፆታዊ ለውጥ ተፅዕኖ የማምጣት አቅም አለው? ኋላ ቀር እና ጎጂ ፆታዊ መድሎዎችን ለማሸነፍ የሚረዳ የስራ አይነት ነው?)

የተመረጡ የስራ ባለቤቶች በተመረጡ የቢዝነስ አሰልጣኞች ለሦስት ጊዜ 1ለ1 የቢዝነስ ስልጠናዎችና የገንዘብ ድጋፍን ያገኛሉ። አንድ #WomenCall ተሳታፊ የምትቀበለው ጠቅላላ የገንዘብ መጠን የእራስዋን ኢንቨስትመንት በ2.5 በማባዛት ሲሆን፣
ምሳሌ 1 (አነስተኛ መጠን)
የስራው ባለቤት 14,500 ብር ኢንቨስት ብታደርግ 36,250 ብር ስጦታ ታገኛለች ማለት ነው።

ምሳሌ 2 (ከፍተኛው መጠን)
የስራው ባለቤት 58,000 ብር ኢንቨስት ብታረግ 145.000 ብር ስጦታ ታገኛለች ማለት ነው።

• #WomenCall ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ለሚገኙ ሴት የስራ ባለቤቶች ብቻ ነው።
• #WomenCall "የሀገራዊ ጥሪ" ዳያስፖራን የማያካትት የWIDU የስጦታ መሳሪያ ነው። ይህም ማለት አመልካቾች #WomenCall ለማመልከት የዳያስፖራ አባል አያስፈልጋቸውም ማለት ነው።
• የስጦታው መጠን የሚሰላው የስራው ባለቤት ኢንቨስት ባደረገው መጠን ነው። የግል ኢንቨስትመንት x 2.5 = የስጦታ መጠን

#WomenCall ከሰኔ 24. 2015 ጀምሮ ለአመልካቾች ክፍት ነው.
በአጠቃላይ, ማመልከቻዎች/ስራዎች የሚገመገሙት እና የሚመረጡት ባመለከቱበት ፍጥነት ልክ ሲሆን. በተቻለ ፍጥነት ማመልከቱ ለመረጥ የተሻለ እድል ይሰጣል ማለት ነው ። In Ethiopia, the application period will close on 15. August 2023.

ማንኛውም ጥያቄ ካለዎት ወይም በመተግበሪያ ፎርማችን ላይ ችግሮች ካጋጠሟችሁ ከእኛ ጋር ለመገናኘት በኢሜል አድራሻች ethiopia@widu.africa እንዲሁም በቴለግራም ቻናላችን https://t.me/Widu_africa_Ethiopia ጥያቄዎቻችሁን ያጋሩን።
እንዲሁም
በየሳምንቱ ሀሙስ ከሰዓት (ከ8- 11:00 ሰአት በኢትዮጵያ ሰዓት አቆጣጠር) አዲስ አበባ ሜክሲኮ፣ ዋቢሸበሌ ሆቴል ፊት ለፊት በሚገኘው Creative Hub ቢሮ በአካል በመምጣት ጥያቄዎቻችሁን ልታጋሩን ትችላላችሁ