Make-IT in Africa is on a mission to empower African digital innovation ecosystems to become 'future-ready,' resilient, and sustainable. In partnership with Value for Women, Make-IT in Africa is determined to address the gender gap persisting in Africa's innovation landscape. Together, we aim to foster gender equality and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) through immersive training, tailored advisory, masterclasses, dedicated office hours, and online gender diagnostics for startups and intermediaries/entrepreneurial support organisations (ESOs).

The GameChangerX initiative, as part of the “Make-IT in Africa” project, aims to support digital innovation startups and ecosystem support organisations on their journey towards greater gender diversity in the African innovation ecosystem, through tailored, world-class gender lens training and advisory services designed to close gender gaps.

The African digital and tech ecosystem is booming, with startups attracting an increasing amount of financing from local and international investors. However, the African innovation ecosystem does not provide equal opportunities to all, and women continue to be disproportionately underrepresented as leaders, founders, and employees. Access to funding, networks, business-development services and skills development opportunities is unevenly distributed, exacerbating disparities in representation and participation. African women have the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in the world at an estimated 24% and are more likely to start businesses than their counterparts. However, several factors persistently hinder the potential of female founders and entrepreneurs in Africa. These include a lack of access to startup capital, a lack of access to start-up support ecosystems and networks that deliver capacity-building support and a lack of knowledge and expertise to implement gender-lens investing strategies among venture capital firms and funds.