The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) has announced the finalists for its 2026 AWIEF Awards.
Launched in 2017, the annual AWIEF Awards initiative recognizes, honours, and celebrates women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa across various industry sectors for their achievements and contributions to the continent’s inclusive economic growth and social development.
Following a highly competitive nominations process, this year’s finalists represent a diverse range of sectors and African markets, reflecting the breadth of talent, innovation and impact emerging across the continent.
The 2026 Awards categories have been refined to reflect the evolving entrepreneurial and innovation landscape in Africa, with categories recognizing emerging leaders, technology pioneers, agricultural innovators, creative visionaries, and women driving measurable impact.
This year also sees the introduction of the Male Ally Award, to recognize a male leader, founder, executive, policymaker or senior decision-maker whose leadership and actions have contributed meaningfully to advancing women’s economic empowerment and creating sustained, systemic change for women in Africa.
The 2026 AWIEF Awards winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony and gala dinner on November 10-11, 2026, taking place as the grand finale of the AWIEF 2026 Conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together women entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, policymakers, development partners, and other entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
The Awards Gala will be an opportunity to celebrate this year’s finalists and winners while recognizing the women and allies helping to shape a more inclusive and prosperous economic future for Africa.
The finalists for the 2026 AWIEF Awards are (listed in alphabetical order):
Woman To Watch Award
- Omotoke Ajidagba – Co-founder & COO, 10mg Health, Nigeria
- Faith Nafula – Founder & CEO, Solar Spark Energy, Kenya
- Rowena Turinawe – Founding CEO, Ruka Pay, Uganda
AGRI AWARD
- Violet Awo Amoabeng – Founder & CEO, Skin Gourmet, Ghana
- Stella Doreen Namulondo – Co-founder & COO, Essymart Africa Business Link, Uganda
- Joyce Rugano – CEO, Ecorich Solutions, Kenya
IMPACT FOR GOOD AWARD
- Ola Brown – General Partner, HealthCap Africa, Nigeria
- Nada Ghammem – Co-Founder & CEO, Bionic Soul, Tunisia
- Echo Nomsa VanderWal – Executive Director, The Luke Commission, Eswatini
CREATIVE VISIONARY AWARD
- Rasha Aita – Managing Director, SMACRS LLC, Egypt
- Renuka Methil – Managing Editor, Forbes Africa, South Africa
- Hadeer Shalaby – Co-Founder & CEO, Freeziana, Egypt
TECH PIONEER AWARD
- Varuna Devi Bangaleea – Group CEO, nVisionIT, Mauritius
- Ndeye Fatou Mboup – CEO, The Smart Granary, Senegal
- Quinter Ochieng – Founder & CEO, Chargebyte Africa, Kenya
MALE ALLY AWARD
- The 2026 recipient for this award category will be announced at the AWIEF Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
- The Lifetime Achievement Award honours a visionary female leader whose decades of leadership, entrepreneurship or public service have contributed significantly to Africa’s economic, social or institutional development and helped pave the way for future generations of women leaders.
