Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa

What Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa does

Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa (WIMOWCA) is a non-profit professional association founded on 23 July 2021 in Accra, Ghana, where it remains headquartered on the 7th Floor of the Ghana Maritime Authority Building. The association was inaugurated by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and serves as the official sub-regional link organisation of the IMO's global Women in Maritime programme across 14 countries spanning Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone West and Central Africa.

WIMOWCA's core activities are capacity building, networking, and advocacy for women in the maritime sector. Its product/service surface is event-based: an Annual General Meeting and Conference (first held in Dakar in 2022), joint regional conferences with peer bodies such as WOMESA and the Network of Professional Women in the Maritime and Port Sectors in West and Central Africa (NPWMP-WCA), awards nights, and International Women's Day programming. The association is engaged with regional maritime governance through the Abuja MoU on Port State Control and is extending into maritime security via a partnership with UNODC under the Denmark-funded DMSP 2022–2026 programme.

WIMOWCA's business model is grant- and sponsorship-funded rather than commercial. Primary funding flows from the IMO as core sponsor, with supplementary grant funding from UNODC/Denmark for specific programmes and conferences. The association does not charge for core membership services or run a paid product line; financial sustainability is dependent on continued sponsorship from a narrow set of institutional funders.

Name

Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa

Legal name

Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa

Website

https://wimowca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

WIMOWCA is a non-profit association, founded in 2021 in Accra, Ghana, that serves as the IMO's sub-regional link organisation for women in maritime across 14 West and Central African countries. It delivers conferences, training, and advocacy on gender equity, funded by IMO sponsorship and UNODC/Denmark grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Maritime Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Multilateral Diplomacy & International Representation (UN, Regional Bodies) (BPAIAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Economic & Trade Cooperation Organizations (BPADAAAC), Trade Facilitation, Customs & Border Regulatory Cooperation (BPADANAG)

Keywords

• Maritime professional association
• Women in maritime
• Gender equity advocacy
• Maritime capacity building
• West and Central Africa

Headquarters

HQ city

Accra

HQ country

Ghana

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

WIMOWCA is a sub-regional professional association serving as the link organization between the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and women in maritime in West and Central Africa. It delivers membership-based services including capacity-building programs, national chapter development across 14 countries, regional conferences, annual general meetings, and an annual gala dinner and awards ceremony, all aimed at promoting gender equity and women's participation in the maritime sector.

Product overview

Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa (WIMOWCA) is a professional association serving as a sub-regional body of the IMO Women in Maritime Programme. The organization operates as a membership-based association offering programs including membership enrollment, regional conferences and events, national chapter development across 14 countries, and annual awards recognition. WIMOWCA functions as the link organization between the IMO and women in maritime stakeholders throughout West and Central Africa, focusing on capacity-building, gender equity advocacy, and professional networking in the maritime sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Membership Program

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Abuja Memorandum of Understanding of Port State Control for West and Central Africa (Abuja MoU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAbuja MoU is listed as a key partner. WIMOWCA participated in the 12th Abuja MoU Port State Control Committee Meeting in Banjul, The Gambia in November 2022, demonstrating active collaboration on maritime governance.
• Maritime Organizations of West and Central Africa (MOWCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMOWCA is listed as a key partner organization, working collaboratively on maritime development initiatives across the sub-region.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNODC partnered with WIMOWCA under the Peace and Stabilization Engagement (PSE 1) of the Danish Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Programme (DMSP 2022–2026), outcome 3 on gender roles and UNSCR 1325/Women, Peace and Security. They are co-organizing a Regional Conference and AGM on 6-7 November 2025 at KAIPTC, Accra, Ghana.
• Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGMA is listed as a supporter of the November 2025 Regional Conference co-organized by WIMOWCA and UNODC.
• Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGPHA is listed as a supporter of the November 2025 Regional Conference co-organized by WIMOWCA and UNODC.
• Ghana Shippers' Authority (GSA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSA is listed as a supporter of the November 2025 Regional Conference co-organized by WIMOWCA and UNODC.
• Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKAIPTC is hosting the WIMOWCA-UNODC Regional Conference and AGM on 6-7 November 2025 in Accra, Ghana.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Women in Maritime Association, Caribbean (WIMAC): Sister regional Women in Maritime Association under the IMO umbrella, serving the Caribbean. Same IMO-affiliated WIMA model and gender-equity mandate as WIMOWCA, providing a direct structural peer comparison.
• Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA): Listed WIMOWCA strategic partner and the regional intergovernmental body coordinating maritime policy across the same 14-country footprint. Highly comparable mandate and geography, though MOWCA is governmental where WIMOWCA is civil-society.
• WISTA International (Women's International Shipping & Trading Association): Global professional network for women in shipping and trading with national chapters worldwide. Directly comparable to WIMOWCA as a membership-based, advocacy-and-networking body for women in the maritime industry, though WISTA operates commercially and at global scale.
• WOMESA (Women in Maritime of Eastern and Southern Africa): WIMOWCA's joint-conference partner in 2024 (Sao Tome) and the corresponding African WIMA for Eastern and Southern Africa. Direct mandate and structural peer, differing only in geographic footprint.
• Pacific Women in Maritime Association (PacWIMA): Another IMO-affiliated regional Women in Maritime Association, serving Pacific Island states. Structurally identical to WIMOWCA — IMO-linked regional WIMA — making it a natural peer for benchmarking governance, funding, and programming models.

Regional players

• Abuja Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control: Regional port state control regime covering West and Central Africa. WIMOWCA participates in its committee meetings; comparable in geographic scope and maritime-governance focus, though focused on regulatory enforcement rather than gender equity.
• Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA): Hosts the WIMOWCA secretariat and is a listed supporter of WIMOWCA events. Comparable as a national maritime regulatory body in WIMOWCA's host country and primary institutional host.

Others

• Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC): Accra-based training institution hosting the 2025 WIMOWCA-UNODC Regional Conference. Comparable as a regional convening and capacity-building institution in Ghana's maritime/security ecosystem, though focused on peacekeeping rather than maritime industry.
• IMO Assembly Resolution A.1147(31) — Women in Maritime framework: The IMO regulatory framework WIMOWCA's mandate explicitly references. Not a company peer per se, but the policy framework within which WIMOWCA operates and which dictates its institutional legitimacy.

Broad incumbents

• IMO Women in Maritime Programme (parent body): The IMO's flagship gender-equity program that WIMOWCA was created to serve at the regional level. Comparable as the institutional anchor for women-in-maritime advocacy, though IMO itself is an intergovernmental body rather than a membership association.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wimowca
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wimowca-regional

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa