The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) returns to the Cape Town International Convention Centre on November 10 and 11 under the theme “Beyond Access: Owning Capital, Markets and Power.” The organisers describe the shift in their own words: the conversation moves from participation to ownership, meaning greater control of capital, stronger market positioning and a real voice in economic decisions. It is the 12th edition of the conference, expo and awards event, and it brings together entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, policymakers and ecosystem builders. The programme includes keynotes, fireside chats, panels, masterclasses and workshops, an exhibition, a startup pitch competition and the AWIEF Awards, which close the event on November 11. The organisers list more than 60 African and global speakers, and three keynotes are confirmed: Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia; Magda Wierzycka, founder and CEO of Sygnia; and Dr. Judy Dlamini, Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand and Executive Chairperson of Mbekani Group.
There are four ways to take part, and the costs differ. Delegate passes are sold on the forum’s site at awieforum.org/purchase-conference-tickets. The Standard Pass is listed at $150 and covers all sessions, keynotes, workshops, business matchmaking and the exhibition. The Premium Pass is listed at $250 and adds the Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, a black-tie evening. Registration runs through the delegate form, which asks for your organisation, job title, sector and whether you want an exhibition booth. That form states that paid registrations cannot be cancelled after July 31, 2026, so anyone buying now should treat the ticket as final. Visitor registration is free and covers the exhibition area, masterclasses, workshops and direct access to exhibitors, via the visitor section of the tickets page. Businesses wanting a stand can use the “Book Your Stand” form on the same page, but no stand prices are published, so exhibitors should email info@awieforum.org or call +27 21 002 8264 for a quote. The forum also lists discounted partner hotel rates, flight discount codes and visa assistance for delegates.
One door has already closed. The Pitch n Grow competition for women-led startups, which sends finalists to pitch live in Cape Town with travel and accommodation covered, took applications from June 22 to July 20, and finalists were due to be announced on September 20. The organisers’ announcement says the competition has three tracks (pre-venture, early-stage and growth-stage) and that finalists receive cash prizes, but it gives no prize amounts. Founders who missed the deadline can still attend, and the pitch sessions are a useful look at what investors in the room are backing. Separately, 15 finalists across five award categories (Woman To Watch, Agri, Impact For Good, Creative Visionary and Tech Pioneer) have been named from 10 countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Tunisia, Eswatini, Egypt, South Africa, Mauritius and Senegal. A Male Ally award is new this year, and the Male Ally and Lifetime Achievement honourees will be revealed at the ceremony. The awards launched in 2017.
The theme lands on a real and widening gap. The Diversity Dividend report from Disrupt Africa, reported by WeeTracker in July, found that 19.2% of the 3,000-plus African startups it tracks have at least one female co-founder, up from 17.3% in 2024. But among startups that raised money, the share with a woman on the founding team fell to 16.9% in 2025 from 26.3% in 2023. In the first quarter of 2026, startups with a woman CEO or at least one woman co-founder received $49 million of $597 million raised, or 8.2%. Briter’s Africa Venture Pulse, cited by TechCabal, put the figure for startups with at least one female founder at about 10% of funding in the year to August 2025. The trackers define “women-led” differently and their numbers do not match exactly, but they point the same way: more women are starting companies, and the money is not keeping pace. That is the problem the “owning capital” framing is aimed at.
Treat the programme as a promise rather than a guarantee. The speaker and delegate figures, including the forum’s claim of more than 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries, come from the organisers and have not been independently audited. The forum is a non-profit with UN ECOSOC consultative status, and its partners include Nedbank, UN Women, UNDP, Afreximbank and AWS, though the site does not say which partners support the 2026 edition. For founders, the practical test is whether the matchmaking sessions and the investor rooms produce term sheets, not just conversations. If you attend, book meetings in advance, prepare a clear ask, and use the Premium Pass only if the gala fits your plan, since the standard ticket already includes the sessions and the exhibition.
