Call for Applications – Vital Voices Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Growth Program

The Vital Voices Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Growth Program is a one-year comprehensive and tailored program focused on building the capacity and concrete skills of SME women business owners to create actionable business plans to grow their businesses. The Program will target women-owned SMEs in the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The SME Growth Training Program is an online and in-person program that integrates the latest business trends, global best practices, and interactive learning techniques. These and all other programmatic elements are regionally localized to ensure that the program is accessible and applicable to women business owners and the business environments they operate in. The program consists of 4 components:

1. An intensive participant selection process,
2. Online preparatory sessions before the training that guide program participants in drafting a business plan that they will refine throughout the training,
3. A 4-day in-person regional training, and
4. Access to growth services based on needed skills and tools targeted in participants’ business plans.

The application for this SME Growth Program is specific to the AFRICA region. If you
are an AFRICAN women business owner please continue.

Who Can Apply

Vital Voices is seeking applications from African women business owners who:

-       Own a businesses that has been in operation for at least 3 years,

-       Employ at least 3 staff (including temporary and/or seasonal workers), and

-       Generate at least USD $25,000 in annual sales

As an interested applicant, you:

• Are motivated to build the skills and make the changes needed to grow your business,
• Are excited to participate in a one year program including on-line and in-person training and access to external business growth opportunities, and
• Recognize the value of tracking the growth of your business for up to 3 years through methods such as surveys, calls, or additional opportunities.

How to Apply

To apply for the Vital Voices Global SME Growth Program, please:

1. Complete the application through SurveyGizmo using the link CLICK HERE

This application should take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. For your application to be considered complete, answers are required for all questions unless otherwise noted.

Please complete the application to the best of your ability. Please note that the open-ended questions have a limit on the number of characters for responses, including spaces.

Upon receipt of your application you will receive a confirmation email from Vital Voices. Vital Voices staff will contact you to provide information regarding your application’s status.

Your personal and business information will remain confidential. Only Vital Voices staff members will see this information for the sole purpose of program participant selection and monitoring and evaluation.

If selected for the program, please note that acceptance is NON-TRANSFERABLE. Successful applicants selected to participate in the program may not transfer their acceptance to another individual.

If you encounter questions or problems with the survey, please contact: Eniola Mafe HERE

All APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY

TO VITAL VOICES BY MONDAY, MAY 13^th.