Women Who Build Africa

What Women Who Build Africa does

Women Who Build Africa (WWBA) is a non-profit community organization founded in 2022 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It operates as a pan-African platform designed to connect and support women founders, operators, and funders active in Africa's tech and business ecosystem, with stated reach extending to the African Diaspora. WWBA runs a Slack-based digital community supplemented by regular in-person programming including happy hours, VIP dinners, pitch days, workshops, expert office hours, mentor and co-founder matching, a hiring channel, a funder and founder database, and a dedicated Women in VC educational track. Its flagship offering is the annual WWBA Assembly, which drew 300+ attendees in Nairobi in 2024 and is scheduled for February 5-6, 2026 with an expanded partner roster.

The organization is structured around community and event revenue mechanics rather than traditional SaaS or transaction-based monetization. Membership access to the community, Slack channels, databases, and most programming appears to be free; the organization generates revenue (undisclosed) primarily through Assembly sponsorships and partner contributions. Technology infrastructure is intentionally lightweight: Slack for the core community, Flodesk for newsletter and event registration, and LinkedIn for brand presence. WWBA is led by co-founder Thea Sokolowski and operates with 1-10 employees, relying on volunteer and partner leverage to scale event and program delivery across cities. The organization has no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or venture funding, and operates as an independent founder-led entity.

Name

Women Who Build Africa

Legal name

Women Who Build Africa

Website

https://www.womenwhobuild.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women Who Build Africa is a non-profit community platform founded in 2022 that connects women founders, operators, and funders across Africa's tech and business ecosystem and the Diaspora via a Slack community, programming, and an annual Assembly.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Community and Networking

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

Keywords

• Women entrepreneurship community
• Professional networking events
• Mentorship matching programs
• Venture capital education
• Founder support platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership/Community Access: The organization appears to operate primarily as a free community platform, providing access to events, networking, job boards, and mentor matching at no cost to members. Revenue model is not explicitly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women Who Build Africa is a free community and platform that brings together women and non-binary people across Africa's tech and business space. It offers in-person networking events (happy hours, VIP dinners, pitch days, workshops), an annual Assembly conference, a Slack-based community with hiring channels and mentorship pairing, and curated funder and founder databases. The offering targets women founders, operators, and funders across Africa and the African Diaspora.

Product overview

Women Who Build Africa is a community and platform designed to bring together women and non-binary people across Africa's tech and business space. The offering is organized as a unified community platform with multiple interconnected services including: Happy Hours and VIP Dinners for networking; Pitch Days with support for founders; the Women in VC Program for investor education; Workshops and Expert Office Hours for professional development; a Hiring Channel within the Slack community for job posting and career opportunities; Mentor and Founder Pairing for mentorship and co-founding connections; the annual WWBA Assembly flagship event; and access to a Funder and Founder Database. The ecosystem connects members through in-person events across African cities and the Diaspora, supplemented by the Slack-based online community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Happy Hours and VIP Dinners Networking events combining informal happy hours with exclusive VIP dinners, providing intimate settings for members to connect and build relationships across Africa's business ecosystem.
• Pitch Days and Support Platform for founders to present their businesses to the WWBA community, with access to additional support resources and mentorship opportunities.
• Women in VC Program Educational and networking track designed to help women connect with experienced investors and gain knowledge to start careers in venture capital.
• Workshops and Expert Office Hours Skill-building workshops and one-on-one expert office hours providing professional development and mentorship access for members.
• Job Board and Hiring Channel Employment marketplace within the Slack community enabling members to post job openings or find new career opportunities in Africa's tech and business ecosystem.
• Mentor and Founder Pairing Connection facilitation service that matches mentors with mentees, co-founders with founders, and enables partnership formation within the community.
• WWBA Assembly Annual flagship conference bringing together women founders, operators, funders, and allies from across Africa's business ecosystem. Features panels, fireside chats, workshops, and networking sessions.
• Funder and Founder Database Curated database providing members access to connect with funders and founders across Africa's business ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ attendees at WWBA Assembly 2024
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• All Raise: All Raise is a nonprofit community dedicated to increasing the representation and success of women in venture capital and the broader tech ecosystem. Like WWBA, it runs community programming, events, and resources targeting women founders, operators, and funders, making it a strong functional peer despite a US focus.
• Female Founders Fund: Female Founders Fund is a US-based venture fund and community backing women-founded companies. Its mission, women-focused community building, and ecosystem programming for women founders and investors closely parallel WWBA's founder/funder network model.
• Women in Tech Africa: Women in Tech Africa is a pan-African non-profit focused on empowering women in technology across the continent. It shares WWBA's geographic focus on Africa and a community-led model for supporting women in tech and business, making it the closest direct peer.
• Africa Women in Tech (AWIT): AWIT is an initiative supporting African women in technology through community, training, and events. Its pan-African scope and focus on women in tech closely mirror WWBA's mission and member base.

Broad incumbents

• Co-creation Hub (CcHUB): CcHUB is one of Africa's largest innovation hubs running ecosystem programs, talent development, and community events across Nigeria and beyond. It overlaps with WWBA's mission of building the African tech ecosystem and serving founders, though with a broader mandate beyond women.
• Andela: Andela built a pan-African and global community of tech talent, with networking, hiring, and learning infrastructure similar to WWBA's Slack-based community and hiring channel. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps on talent and community-building for African tech workers.
• VC4Africa: VC4A (Venture Capital for Africa) operates a pan-African platform connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem builders with deal-flow and community features. It overlaps with WWBA on founder/investor database functionality and Africa-wide community programming.

Emerging players

• Black Girls in Tech: Black Girls in Tech is a community-driven nonprofit building pipelines and networks for Black women in technology. It parallels WWBA's mission of supporting underrepresented women in tech via community, events, and mentorship, though with a different geographic focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-who-build-africa

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 Women Who Build Africa