Three partners, one programme: inside the Her Startup model
It isn't every day that a Nigerian non-profit, a Swiss charity and an impact investor decide to build something together. They came together because, although women make up make up 58% of Africa's self-employed, yet in 2025, startups founded only by women received less than 1% of the $3.2 billion invested in African tech.
The talent is clearly there, but founders lack a clear path, with training that prepares them to raise money, capital that fits early-stage businesses, and people who stay with them after the cheque clears.
Applications for the second cohort close on 26 October 2026. Apply now.
Many programmes for women entrepreneurs offer training, mentoring or introductions to investors. Fewer stay with a founder all the way through. They prepare her to raise money, invest in her directly, and stay with her as the business grows.
Her Startup was built to do all three. It does so through a partnership that plays to each partner's strengths, bringing local roots, international reach and investment expertise together in one programme.
The people behind the partnership
What makes the partnership work isn't just what each organisation brings. It is who leads them. Each co-founder has lived a different part of the journey that Her Startup founders are about to take.
Khalil Halilu: the founder with a vision
Co-founder, Her Startup; Founder, KSH Foundation
Khalil Halilu knows what it is to build a startup. Early in his career, he founded ShapShap, an on-demand delivery app now operating in Lagos and Abuja, and CANs Park, an eco-friendly tech hub in Abuja that gives startups workspace, advice and community. He later co-founded and ran several more businesses and served on company boards before founding KSH Foundation.
The Nigerian non-profit KSH Foundation supports young Nigerians in entrepreneurship and technology, with a presence in over 15 states and a particular emphasis on women. Khalil is also Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria's National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), and remains closely involved in Her Startup. He brings a founder's understanding of what it takes to get a young company off the ground, and deep roots in the ecosystem Nigerian founders work in.
Maggie Gu: the international bridge with a passion
Co-founder, Her Startup; Founder and Chairwoman, Tomorrow Foundation
Maggie Gu brings an international perspective shaped by more than two decades of work across Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Since her first visit to Africa in 2003, she has worked in economic development, international cooperation and cross-border initiatives, alongside governments, institutions and business partners.
She is the Founder and Chairwoman of Tomorrow Foundation, an independent Swiss charitable foundation based in Geneva. Through the Foundation, she has supported entrepreneurship education for more than 6,500 young Africans across 10 countries. She also launched AI for All, an initiative that expands access to artificial intelligence, builds local skills and widens participation in the digital economy. The Foundation is working with Thunderbird School of Global Management to bring the 100 Million Learners programme to Nigeria.
For Her Startup, Maggie brings experience in navigating different markets, building international partnerships and connecting people and resources across borders. She believes women entrepreneurs need more than access to funding: they need the knowledge, networks and opportunities to build sustainable businesses and help shape the future.
"Today, as technology opens new possibilities, women have a historic opportunity — not merely to participate in the future, but to stand at the forefront and help lead it. We want to see more African women building businesses, creating opportunities and shaping the next generation of innovation."
— Maggie Gu, Co-founder, Her Startup; Chairwoman, Tomorrow Foundation
Evelyn Castle: the builder turned investor
Co-founder, Her Startup; Co-founder and CEO, EHA Impact Ventures
Evelyn Castle has built ventures, and now invests in them. A pioneering health executive, she co-founded eHealth Africa and EHA Clinics, raising over USD $250 million and leading major public health initiatives, including polio eradication in Nigeria and Ebola containment across West Africa. More than a decade of leading health programmes across Nigeria and the region has shown her what it takes to build and scale organisations on the continent.
In 2021, she co-founded EHA Impact Ventures (EIV), where she is Chief Executive Officer. EIV is a non-profit impact investing firm providing capital, support and networks to early-stage, women-led businesses in healthcare, nutrition and livelihoods. Under her leadership, EIV has deployed over USD $9 million in catalytic capital to African women-led businesses building scalable solutions for underserved communities. She knows what young companies need to grow, and how the right kind of capital makes that growth possible.
How the programme works
Training comes from a fourth partner, Founder Institute, one of the world's largest pre-seed startup accelerators. Because the partners work as one programme, founders don't have to move between unrelated schemes. The journey runs in three stages:
- Training. Three months with Founder Institute, with fees covered by Her Startup and a monthly stipend so founders can commit fully.
- Capital. Graduates pitch for investment, and selected founders receive convertible, revenue-based financing.
- Mentoring. Funded founders receive six months of mentoring matched to their needs.
The financing is designed around the founder. A convertible, revenue-based loan is repaid from a share of future revenue, with the option to convert into equity. Founders keep ownership early on, and repayments adjust when revenue is low. Repayments are then reinvested in future founders, so each successful company helps fund the next.
"It's not enough to just give these companies financing. It's about giving them financing that will truly help them succeed. We chose a convertible, revenue-based loan, an innovative financing mechanism that is just starting to enter the market. It is incredibly founder-friendly."
— Evelyn Castle, Co-founder, Her Startup; Co-founder and CEO, EHA Impact Ventures
Support doesn't stop at the business. Founders receive a monthly stipend tied to participation and performance, plus wellbeing support. A founder who can pay her bills and look after her wellbeing can give her business her full attention.
What the pilot taught us
The first edition tested the model in 2025. More than 200 founders from 18 African countries applied, and 10 were selected for training, from Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. At a Pitch Day in Lagos in April 2025, three ventures received funding, and founders have since won grants and awards and attracted investor interest.
Ngozi Nwabueze of PocketLawyers.io, for example, used the programme to shift her legal-tech platform from a "tech-first" to a "trust-first" approach, investing in lawyer training and real-time case tracking.
The partners have also learned from the pilot. The second edition adds an orientation session before training starts, clearer guidance for participants, and closer work with local partners in the countries founders come from, so support reaches them where they are.
That willingness to learn comes from leaders who stay involved. A founder who has built startups, an international development leader, and a health entrepreneur turned impact investor designed the programme themselves, debated the financing model and agreed on it together.
"We don't just talk; we work hard to implement our ideas. Together, we can create a thriving ecosystem where women entrepreneurs are empowered to lead, innovate and succeed."
— Khalil Halilu, Co-founder, Her Startup; Founder, KSH Foundation
The result is a programme that is greater than the sum of its parts, and a path from idea to growth that women founders have rarely been offered.
Apply for the second cohort
If you are a woman building a technology-driven business in Africa, applications for the second cohort of Her Startup are open until 26 October 2026.
Apply now: apply.her-startup.com
