Name

WomHub

Legal name

WomHub

Website

https://womhub.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubator/Accelerator

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)

Keywords

• Female founder incubator
• STEM accelerator programmes
• Co-working space
• Women entrepreneurship support
• Venture development hub

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Co-working and Hub Memberships: WomHub generates recurring membership revenue from hot-desking (R500/day), meeting room hire (R550/hr), event space rental, and longer-term office leases. Revenue is derived from female founders, startups, and SMEs subscribing to flexible workspace access across its Johannesburg, Cape Town, and East London hubs.
2. Corporate-Sponsored Incubator and Accelerator Programmes: WomHub designs and delivers bespoke incubator, accelerator, and training programmes funded by corporate partners (Sasol, HB Antwerp, Finnish Embassy, Standard Chartered, Cisco, GIZ, British High Commission). Programme costs are covered for selected participants, with the sponsor covering WomHub's programme delivery fees. This constitutes professional services and managed services revenue.
3. Consulting and Advisory Services: WomHub offers consulting and advisory services to corporations and institutions seeking to develop women-in-STEM programmes, DEI strategies, and ecosystem development initiatives. Revenue is earned through project-based engagements with corporate clients and government bodies.
4. Eventing and Venue Hire: Revenue from hosting events, conferences, workshops, and training sessions in WomHub's Johannesburg and Cape Town event spaces. Packages are custom-quoted based on scope and duration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

WomHub is a boutique incubator, accelerator, and co-working hub providing physical workspace, structured incubator/accelerator programmes, and ecosystem support for female founders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Manufacturing) across South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. The company operates three physical hubs in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and East London, alongside a portfolio of specialised programmes (Africa Innovation Fellowship, Circular Economy Incubator/Accelerator, Sasol Women in Engineering Incubator, HB Antwerp Innovation Lab, and others) funded by corporate and government sponsors.

Product overview

WomHub is a boutique incubator, accelerator, and co-working hub for female founders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Manufacturing). The company operates a multi-tiered ecosystem consisting of: (1) WomHub Co-Working Spaces in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and East London providing physical infrastructure for female entrepreneurs; (2) The WomHub Imagineering Hub featuring a Venture Studio for incubating women-led innovations and a Maker Space for rapid prototyping; (3) The WomHub Accelerator offering e-learning, coaching, and investor readiness support; and (4) A portfolio of specialized accelerator and incubator programmes including the Africa Innovation Fellowship (AIF) for pan-African women STEM innovators, the Circular Economy Incubator and Accelerator for ecopreneurs, the Economic Growth Accelerator with SMME and Venture tracks, the Sasol Women in Engineering Incubator, the HB Antwerp Innovation Lab, the Cyber Resilience Digital Access Programme, the Women in Circular Mining programme, and the Khanyisa Bafazi Training Programme for informal women-owned enterprises. Additional offerings include the WomHub Vulnerability Index cybersecurity assessment tool. The ecosystem is complemented by WomEng, a related non-profit organization working to attract, develop and retain female engineering talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Africa Innovation Fellowship (AIF): A flagship eight-month leadership and business development programme for African women innovators with early-stage engineering innovations or startups, run in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• Sasol Women in Engineering Incubator Programme
• Circular Economy Incubator (CEI)
• Circular Economy Accelerator (CEA)
• Khanyisa Bafazi Training Programme
• Women in Circular Mining
• HB Antwerp Innovation Lab
• Cyber Resilience Digital Access Programme (CRDAP)
• WomHub Spaces

Products and services

• WomHub Co-Working Spaces A boutique co-working hub providing user-centric spaces for female founders to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and leaders, featuring hot-desking (R500/day), private offices, meeting room hire (from R550/hr), and event spaces across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and East London.
• WomHub Imagineering Hub An innovation space and venture studio featuring a Venture Studio for incubating women-led STEM innovations and a Maker Space for product development and rapid prototyping, designed to explore possibilities and push boundaries for female-centric innovation leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
• WomHub Accelerator An accelerator providing e-learning offerings, business coaches, mentors, startup experts, and investor-readiness support to convert startups into thriving businesses leveraging technology and virtual platforms.
• Africa Innovation Fellowship (AIF) An eight-month leadership and business development programme for African women innovators with early-stage engineering innovations or startups, providing mentorship, workshops, co-working space, networking, and pitch opportunities, run in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering.
• Circular Economy Incubator (CEI) A year-long hybrid programme bringing together South African women ecopreneurs with early-stage businesses to advance the circular or green economy mandate, providing entrepreneurial incubation and mentorship support culminating in a Funders Fair with African investors.
• Economic Growth Accelerator A year-long hybrid programme supporting businesses to accelerate growth through leadership development and intensive entrepreneurial support, consisting of two tracks: SMME Track for steady growth companies and Venture Track for high growth opportunity businesses.
• Sasol Women in Engineering Incubator Programme A year-long in-person and virtual programme providing leadership development and intensive entrepreneurial support for South African women founders with engineering businesses, including access to WomHub's co-working space, masterclasses, venture clinics, and technical engineering expertise.
• HB Antwerp Innovation Lab A comprehensive training programme cultivating sector-specific skills and attracting local talent for HB Antwerp's operations facility in Botswana, supporting soon-to-be graduates with innovation, leadership, intrapreneurship, and employability skills across engineering disciplines.
• Cyber Resilience Digital Access Programme (CRDAP) An online, self-paced and interactive course upskilling and building cyber resilience for women entrepreneurs in South Africa and their businesses with a digital presence, covering cybersecurity fundamentals, online safety, protocol creation, and threat recovery.
• WomHub Vulnerability Index A cybersecurity assessment tool providing a risk profile of an organisation from technical, people, and process perspectives, helping entrepreneurs understand how vulnerable their businesses are to cyber threats in the online space.
• Khanyisa Bafazi Training Programme A transformative programme supporting women-owned businesses in the Eastern Cape to formalize and grow their existing businesses through practical business and financial training, digital tools usage, mentorship, and expert-led workshops.
• Women in Circular Mining A programme supporting and equipping female entrepreneurs within the mining value chain to adopt and implement circular economy principles, through targeted training, mentorship, and access to funding and market opportunities, in partnership with the Finnish Embassy.
• Circular Economy Accelerator (CEA) A nine-month hybrid programme for South African women ecopreneurs with later-stage businesses and products to further their growth in the circular or green economy, providing entrepreneurial acceleration and thematic expert support.
• Innovation R&D Programme A 5-month hybrid programme powered by GIZ Make-IT in Africa and WomHub, bridging the innovation gap through a learning journey for makerspaces in West and East Africa, incorporating innovation, technology trends, gender diversity, and sustainability.
• WomEng Southern Africa Fellowship A premier programme for top engineering and technology students developing leadership, innovation, well-being, and employability skills required to succeed in the engineering and technology industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• 58 women-owned innovations across sub-Saharan Africa were supported through the AIF 2020 programme in a single year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• CiscocoreTechnology or Integration · 18 August 2023WomHub partnered with Cisco to integrate cutting-edge technology into WomHub's co-working and innovation hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Cisco provides advanced networking, collaboration, fintech, virtual reality (VR), and cybersecurity solutions across both hub locations. This is described as a first for the African continent. The partnership also includes access to Cisco's training programmes, mentorship opportunities, and resources for WomHub entrepreneurs. The Johannesburg hub was the first launched, followed by Cape Town.
• Royal Academy of EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomHub has partnered with the Royal Academy of Engineering since 2019 to deliver the Africa Innovation Fellowship (AIF), a flagship pan-African programme developing women-owned STEM innovations across sub-Saharan Africa. AIF is designed to develop the talent pipeline for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The Royal Academy of Engineering provides programme design input, expert engineering council members, and connects AIF alumni to the Africa Prize application pathway. WomHub handles programme delivery, mentorship, and operational management across multiple African countries.
• SasolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSasol, a major South African integrated chemicals and mining company, partners with WomHub to deliver the Sasol Women in Engineering Incubator Programme and the Sasol Women in Mining Incubator Programme. Sasol's Enterprise and Supplier Development team funds the programmes, provides grant funding to selected participants, and connects programme alumni to procurement opportunities within Sasol's supply chain. WomHub designs and delivers the incubator curriculum, provides co-working access, and manages the full programme lifecycle.
• Finnish Embassy (Pretoria)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Embassy of Finland in Pretoria partners with WomHub on the Women in Circular Mining Programme and the Circular Economy Incubator. The Finnish Embassy provides funding, programme design input, and visibility through its diplomatic network. WomHub delivers the training, mentorship, and incubation components. Participants in the Women in Circular Mining Programme gain exposure to the latest trends in circularity and direct engagement with industry experts, investors, and sector leaders, including participation at Mining Indaba activities in Cape Town.
• Standard Chartered BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStandard Chartered Bank partnered with WomHub to deliver the first-ever Standard Chartered Women in Tech Programme in Africa. Out of nearly 100 applicants, 12 women founders were selected for an intensive programme including group and one-on-one sessions with world-class experts. Standard Chartered provided grant funding to five participants and facilitated investor pitch panels. The programme focused on market readiness, systems development, and securing investment runway for participants.
• British High Commission PretoriamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe British High Commission Pretoria partnered with WomHub to deliver the Cyber Resilience Digital Access Programme (CRDAP), an online self-paced course for women entrepreneurs in South Africa. The programme trained 10 facilitators who in turn trained 30 women entrepreneurs in cybersecurity skills. The British High Commission provided funding and programme sponsorship, while WomHub designed the curriculum, selected facilitators, and managed programme delivery.
• Western Cape Government — Department of Economic Development and TourismmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Western Cape Government partnered with WomHub to deliver the Economic Growth Amplifier programme for 30 female founders in the Western Cape. The programme combined masterclasses, venture clinics, pitch coaching, mentorship, business coaching, and grant and equipment funding. The partnership contributed to enabling access to WomHub's Cape Town co-working and innovation hub for programme participants. The programme concluded with a pitch competition where winners received cash prizes.
• GIZ Make-IT in AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ Make-IT in Africa partners with WomHub on the Innovation R&D programme, which brings together makerspaces from West and East Africa in a 5-month hybrid learning journey focused on local R&D development, technology trends, gender diversity, and sustainability. GIZ provides grant funding of up to 5,000 euros per participant for capstone project implementation. WomHub delivers masterclasses, an innovation roadshow and ecosystem tour in South Africa, mentorship, and programme management.
• HB AntwerpcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHB Antwerp, a diamond manufacturing company, partnered with WomHub to deliver the HB Antwerp Innovation Lab, a comprehensive training programme for Botswana students and graduates in STEM. The programme cultivates sector-specific skills and attracts local talent for HB Antwerp's operations facility in Botswana. WomHub manages programme design and delivery (2021 and 2022 cohorts), while HB Antwerp provides programme funding and extends job offers to high-performing participants upon completion. The programme further supports gender parity and sustainability in the diamond industry.
• UK-South Africa Tech HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe UK-South Africa Tech Hub partnered with WomHub to deliver the Cyber Resilience Programme, a part-time month-long virtual programme focused on cybersecurity for female South African entrepreneurs. WomHub used its expertise in working with female tech-enabled businesses and its cybersecurity and AI knowledge to design and deliver the programme, which ran from 8 March to 31 March 2021.
• De Beers GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDe Beers Group partners with WomHub on the Trailblazer 2025 accelerator programme. WomHub delivers the accelerator curriculum, mentorship, and programme management for women-led innovations in the mining and diamond value chain, leveraging its expertise in supporting women entrepreneurs in the STEM and mining sectors.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• iHub Nairobi: Kenya-based innovation hub offering co-working, incubation, and community programming for African entrepreneurs. Comparable to WomHub's co-working and incubator pillars, though serving East Africa and operating with a tech-only mandate.
• BongoHive: Zambian technology and innovation hub offering co-working, incubation, and training programmes. Comparable to WomHub's co-working plus accelerator combination, though operating at smaller scale in a single Southern African market.
• Flat6Labs: North-Africa and MENA-focused early-stage investor and seed accelerator programme. Comparable to WomHub as a regional accelerator with corporate and institutional partnerships, though operating in a different geographic corridor.

Emerging players

• Village Capital: Global impact-focused accelerator operating programmes in Africa and emerging markets. Comparable to WomHub in its cohort-based accelerator structure and DFI/corporate sponsorship model, though broader in mission and not women-only.

Direct peers

• MEST Africa: Pan-African entrepreneur training and incubation programme operating across multiple African countries. Closely comparable to WomHub in delivering cohort-based entrepreneur development supported by corporate and institutional partners, though MEST is sector-agnostic and not women-focused.
• Springboard Enterprises: Global accelerator network dedicated to women-led technology and life-sciences businesses. Directly comparable to WomHub in its women-founder focus, cohort-based accelerator design, and corporate sponsor-driven delivery model, though primarily serving US and European markets.
• Founders Factory Africa: Africa-focused venture studio and accelerator investing in and building early-stage African startups alongside corporate partners. Comparable to WomHub in its accelerator model and Africa footprint, though sector-agnostic and male-majority.

Broad incumbents

• Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB): Lagos-based innovation hub and ecosystem enabler supporting African entrepreneurs through incubation, acceleration, and corporate partnerships. Comparable to WomHub as a multi-vertical African ecosystem builder, though it is not women-specific and operates at broader scale.
• Tony Elumelu Foundation: Large-scale pan-African entrepreneurship programme funding and training African entrepreneurs across sectors. Comparable to WomHub as a high-visibility African entrepreneurship platform with corporate backing, though gender-inclusive rather than women-specific.
• Impact Hub: Global network of innovation hubs and incubators operating co-working and accelerator programmes across multiple continents. Comparable to WomHub's co-working and community-building model at scale, though not women-focused and franchise-driven.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/womhub
• Facebookfacebook.com/WomHub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/womhub

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WomHub