By Edward Dankwah, GNA
Accra, June 22, GNA – Women constitute 63 per cent of the fourth cohort of the Amahoro Fellowship Programme, Africa’s only entrepreneurship fellowship dedicated to refugee and displaced entrepreneurs, organisers have announced.
The latest cohort comprises 41 entrepreneurs and social-change leaders selected by the Amahoro Coalition to participate in the organisation’s flagship programme, which supports refugee and displaced founders to build sustainable businesses and create jobs across the continent.
A statement issued in Accra by the Coalition said of the selected fellows, 24 were women while 17 were men, underscoring the growing role women are playing in driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and social transformation within displaced communities.
It said the fellows originate from 15 countries across Africa and the Middle East and are currently operating businesses in 16 African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria.
The statement said their ventures span 12 sectors, including agriculture and agribusiness, education, technology and digital services, manufacturing, health, climate action, creative industries, logistics, retail, and social inclusion.
The Amahoro Coalition said the fellowship was redefining perceptions of displacement by supporting entrepreneurs who were creating jobs, attracting investment, and contributing meaningfully to local economies.
It noted that displaced entrepreneurs possessed immense potential and, when given access to capital, networks and mentorship, could build thriving businesses that foster inclusive economic growth across Africa.
Ms Julia Oduol, Principal Strategy Custodian of the Amahoro Fellowship Programme, said the fourth cohort comprised leaders who were creating solutions to some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.
“Cohort 4 represents a group of exceptional leaders who are not waiting for change but are creating it through generating jobs, building ventures and solving some of Africa’s most pressing challenges from within their communities,” she said.
Ms Oduol said the organisation was proud to welcome the fellows into its ecosystem and support them to expand their businesses and increase their impact.
Ms Patricia Barandun, Head of Section Migration and Forced Displacement at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), said the fellowship reflected a commitment to locally led solutions that enabled displaced communities to thrive.
She said the fellow entrepreneurship and leadership were helping shape Africa’s economy and described the initiative as particularly significant as the world marked the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The fellowship is a 12-month programme that combines self-paced learning, live sessions, mentorship, peer learning and engagement with investors, employers, and private-sector leaders.
She said participants were supported to strengthen leadership capabilities, improve investment readiness, refine business models, and expand market opportunities to scale sustainable enterprises.
In addition to training, fellows can access funding of up to US$160,000 each, described by the organisers as the highest-ticket investment available globally for refugee-led enterprises.
The Amahoro Coalition said the programme had supported 88 refugee and displaced entrepreneurs across its first three cohorts, operating in 15 African countries.
Businesses run by the fellows employed 428 people before joining the fellowship, but now support more than 2,240 jobs, while the ventures have collectively secured over US$2.4 million in funding from the coalition and leveraged an additional US$4.1 million in investments.
The fellowship is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Mastercard Foundation, with fellows also receiving mentorship and industry expertise through a partnership with PSA BDP, a global freight, and logistics company.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei