The role of women-led businesses in promoting peace and security across Africa will take centre stage at the 2026 Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), following a new partnership between the organisation and the Open Society Foundations (OSF).
The partnership will feature prominently at AWIEF 2026, scheduled for 10 and 11 November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in South Africa. Now in its twelfth edition, the annual conference brings together entrepreneurs, investors, businesses, government representatives and development organisations from across Africa and beyond.
The collaboration will focus on the relationship between women’s economic empowerment and long-term stability, particularly in communities affected by conflict and political insecurity. Its central discussion will take place during the conference’s opening plenary, titled “Peace Dividends: Why Women-Led Enterprise Is a Security Strategy, Not Just an Economic One”.
The session will examine how women entrepreneurs contribute to economic recovery, restore livelihoods and rebuild trust in communities facing the effects of conflict. It will also consider how businesses established and managed by women can help strengthen local markets and create more resilient communities.
Across fragile and post-conflict regions, including the Sahel, the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa, women entrepreneurs play an important role in sustaining household incomes and supporting local economic activity. However, their contribution to peacebuilding and security often receives less attention than their role in economic development.
The AWIEF and OSF partnership aims to bring this connection into wider discussion, examining how women’s businesses can contribute to stability beyond their immediate commercial activities. The plenary will also address the barriers that prevent women entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential, including limited access to finance, inadequate policy support and funding systems that do not sufficiently recognise their contribution to peace and development.
The opening discussion will be moderated by Idil Absiaye, Regional Head of Women, Peace and Security Policy at UN Women. The panel will bring together representatives from international development, regional integration, diplomacy and the private sector.
Among the speakers is Aimée Ongeso, Program Manager for Transformative Peace at Open Society Foundations. She will be joined by Ibrahim Mulushewa Eshete, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Ethiopia’s Center for National and Regional Integration Studies (CeNRIS).
The panel will also include Amb. Ninikanwa O. Okey-Uche, Consul General at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Johannesburg, and Yvette Mwanza, CEO of Kivu Mineral Resources and President of the North Kivu Chamber of Mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Their contributions will bring different perspectives on how women-led enterprises operate in regions facing economic and security challenges, as well as the policies and investment approaches needed to support their work.
The discussion will consider practical examples of what is already working in communities and identify changes that could help women-owned businesses play a stronger role in peacebuilding. It will also examine how governments, investors and development institutions can create better conditions for women entrepreneurs to establish and expand businesses in vulnerable regions.
For AWIEF and OSF, the partnership reflects a broader effort to recognise women’s economic participation as part of the conversation about peace and security in Africa. Rather than viewing entrepreneurship only through the lens of employment and business growth, the initiative places greater attention on how economic opportunities can support community resilience and help address some of the pressures that contribute to instability.
The opening plenary will take place on 10 November 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as part of the two-day AWIEF conference. Registration and conference tickets are available through the official AWIEF website.
Established in 2015, the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum is a pan-African organisation focused on advancing women’s economic inclusion through entrepreneurship, innovation and business leadership. The organisation says it has directly supported more than 6,500 female founders and entrepreneurs through business development programmes, training and mentorship, while helping participants access finance, markets and professional networks.
Open Society Foundations supports individuals and organisations working to advance more just, inclusive and accountable societies. Its partnership with AWIEF brings its work on peace and social development into a conference programme focused on the role of women in shaping Africa’s economic future.
With the opening plenary placing women’s enterprise within the wider discussion of peace and security, AWIEF 2026 will provide a platform for examining how business investment, economic inclusion and stronger institutional support can contribute to more resilient communities across the continent.
