Each year, the Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum Awards recognize Women Entrepreneurs and Business Owners in Africa for their economic performance and contribution to Africa’s growth and social development. There are 8 award categories, including agribusiness and renewable energy. Nominations should only be made relating to achievements made by a female entrepreneur and national of an African country. Nominees can be nominated or self-nominated. The deadline for entries is 03 August 2026. AWIEF Awards
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Saïd Business School — Global Climate Tech Challenge
The Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford hosts a global competition to encourage tech-driven solutions to the climate crisis. Teams of three to five high school students aged 15 to 18, as well as individual high school teachers from any country, are eligible to submit tech-based ideas or lesson plans addressing issues like air pollution, extreme weather, food security, biodiversity, or water scarcity. Finalists receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Oxford to present their ideas, while the winning student team receives a full scholarship to the Future Climate Tech Innovators summer school and the winning teacher receives a place on an Oxford Executive Education program. The deadline for entries is 17 August 2026. Global Climate Tech Challenge
iF International Forum Design GmbH — Social Impact Prize
The iF Social Impact Prize aims to publish and support design projects that contribute to solving urgent challenges and help to improve living conditions in the developing world. Solutions should already be established and help to solve well-known issues in any category of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The best projects will share a cash prize of €100 thousand in total. Eligibility extends to non-profit organizations, companies, and foundations (student concepts will not be accepted). Social projects can be submitted until 19 August 2026. iF Social Impact Prize
Both ENDS — JWH Initiative
The Joke Waller-Hunter (JWH) Initiative offers grants to advance the leadership of young individuals working for or affiliated with environmental civil society organizations in developing and emerging countries. JWH especially encourages the nomination of young women and local community leaders. Grants range from €2,500 to €7,000. The next nomination deadline is 31 August 2026. Details here
Art Partner — Earth Art Contest
The Earth Partner Prize is an international art competition that invites creatives aged 14 to 30 from all backgrounds to submit original works—across any medium including visual art, film, performance, writing, fashion, digital creations, and more—that address the ecological crisis. Each participant may submit one project. Eight finalists will receive cash prizes of US $10 thousand, $5 thousand, or $2 thousand, and an additional 20 participants will receive honorable mentions from a distinguished, global jury. Applications must be submitted by 07 October 2026. Earth Partner Prize
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship — Training for Social Entrepreneurs
The Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship accepts applications for an accelerator program focused on social enterprises working on women’s economic power and/or climate resilience. The program is designed for established social entrepreneurs who directly serve people living in poverty who suffer disproportionately from climate change. Climate resilience falls into one of the following three categories: sustainable energy, availability of sustainable management of water and sanitation, and climate-smart agriculture. Non-profit, for-profit, or hybrid social enterprises that have a clear commitment to an earned revenue model with the potential for scale are all encouraged to apply. There are no geographical limitations. The application deadline is 16 October 2026. Training for Social Entrepreneurs
Open Rivers Programme — Dam Removal and River Restoration
The Open Rivers Programme invites applications for grants to support the removal of small dams and barriers to restore free-flowing rivers across Europe. Non-governmental organisations, public authorities, and community groups can apply for funding to complete preparatory work, technical assessments, and the physical removal of redundant instream structures. The program offers different grant categories, with funding amounts varying depending on the scope of the project, including small grants under €10 thousand for preparatory phases and larger allocations for full-scale barrier removals. The deadline for the current application cycle is 26 June 2026. Open Rivers
GreenCape — Afri GreenPitch Challenge
GreenCape and Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa invite entrepreneurs to enter the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge. The competition is open to pre-growth, sales-generating green businesses located in Botswana, eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania. Eligible entries must offer economically viable business solutions in circular economy and waste, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility, or water and wastewater. Finalists receive mentorship, access to funding networks, and a chance to pitch to investors, with the winner and finalists competing for cash and in-kind prizes valued at approximately US$20 thousand. The deadline for entries is 30 June 2026. Afri GreenPitch Challenge
Reckitt — Catalyst Social Impact Program
The Catalyst Social Impact Program supports social enterprises focused on health, hygiene, water, sanitation, and climate resilience. The program provides tailored business development, mentorship, and funding to scale purpose-driven ventures that address systemic inequalities and deliver community-level impact. The program is open to entrepreneurs from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. The deadline to apply for the 2026 cohort is 09 August 2026. Social Impact Program
Teach A Man To Fish — School Enterprise Challenge 2026
The School Enterprise Challenge is an international business program for schools run by the educational charity Teach A Man To Fish. It guides and supports teachers and students to plan and set up real, sustainable school businesses and generate real profits to help support their school or a social cause of their choice. Thematic areas include agriculture, drinking water and sanitation, and the environment, among others. Prizes are between US$250 and US$5 thousand, including in-kind donations like laptops and cameras. Please note that only pre-primary schools, primary schools, secondary schools and technical/vocational colleges are eligible (universities are not eligible to apply). Business Ideas have to be submitted by 06 October 2026. School Enterprise Challenge