Women Innovators in WASH for Mentors

Support women entrepreneurs to validate and strengthen their businesses idea

Join as a volunteer mentor to the Women Innovators in WASH Incubation Program and support women entrepreneurs in Africa and Latin America with an innovative business project in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.

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SUPPORTING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS in africa and latin america

The Women Innovators in WASH Incubation Program’s overall goal is to sustainably improve access to safe and affordable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) products and services for communities living in Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa as well as Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia.

We will support 50 female-led startups in the target countries with high-growth potential businesses in any of the WASH sectors and position them to scale their impact and reach more underserved communities by the end of the program.

Thanks to your support as a volunteer mentor and our online incubation program you will always be guided and accompanied in your mission of supporting an early-stage business.

Why participate?

Mentor the project you are passionate about

Connect with the entrepreneur behind the project that interests you the most.

Learn to mentor while you do it

Our active learning model facilitates the role of the mentor by providing a clear structure and resources explained in a simple and practical way.

Grow personally and professionally

Develop your leadership and coaching skills while learning all about innovation.

Anytime, anywhere

Support a project from anywhere in the world, at a time that suits you. Our program is 100% online and flexible!

Become the mentor you also had

Think of the mentors that have passed through your life, become that for someone who needs it.

Be part of a community

Join a group of purpose-driven professionals and connect with male and female mentors from all industries.

Create a more inclusive and efficient society

Guide entrepreneurs who are solving the problems that really matter in their countries.

WHAT IS WASH?

WASH is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation, and hygiene". Together, we want to support women entrepreneurs to develop and scale their innovative solutions to any of the following WASH challenges:

(Safe) Water

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

Household/ community water treatment and safe water storage
Innovative water treatment and water filtration in homes and emergency contexts
Products for testing water quality
Provision of safe water

Sanitation

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

Lightning and amenities for safer latrines
Fecal sludge treatment
Innovative fecal sludge disposal

Hygiene

Type of innovations may include but are not limited to:

Innovative handwashing solutions for difficult contexts
Affordable soap and soap alternatives
Affordable or sustainable menstrual hygiene solutions

This program is perfect for you if

You have passion for entrepreneurship and helping entrepreneurs succeed.
At least 5 years of professional or post-academic experience.
Background or interest in business, innovation, finance and/or WASH sector.
Availability to commit for the whole duration of the program (1h30/week during 4 months).
You have access to a computer or tablet and a reliable and stable internet connection, as all the program will be online.
Proficient in English language.

Apply before the date!

Days

Hours

Minutes

October 30th, 2022

You can learn more about the program by attending one of our info sessions.

Timeline

Apply to the program

Until October 30th, 2022

Tell us more about you and your professional experience by applying below. Our team will assess your selection into the program.

Apply now >

Announcement of selected mentors

Mid-October

We will review all the applications and we will select around 50 mentors to accompany the 50 start-ups to participate in the Women Innovators in WASH.

Attend the onboarding session

December 8th, 2022

If selected, you will be invited to an onboarding welcome call to the program where you will learn the role of the mentor, how to choose a project, use the incubation platform, its methodology and much more!

Choose the project you want to mentor

From late October to early November

Take part in our matching process! You will have the opportunity to meet online with different projects. Once you have met several of them, both you and the entrepreneurs will submit your rankings in order to let us know who you want to work with. Based on the rankings, we will make the best mentor-mentee pairs.

The program starts!

You will work weekly with your mentee in one-on-one mentoring sessions to review their work on the 8 business modules on the platform.
You will guide them while they cover the most important parts of their business (from refining the value proposition to generating a clear growth plan).
You will meet the other mentors in our monthly sessions, so you can share learnings, challenges, and network.

the best entrepreneurship methodology

The Bridge for Billions methodology is based on the development of a business plan from scratch while you are surrounded by a community of support; mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and our incubation team.

Our online platform will allow you to experiment, research, and document their ideas step by step so that at the end of the program they can download their own business plan in PDF.

Module 1

Value Proposition

Make sure you define your true value. Your Value Proposition is the #1 thing that explains why people would be interested in your offer. It’s a promise that clearly communicates the benefits of your product or service

Get to the root of the problems you’re trying to solve
Identify and group your customers into segments
Do customer discovery interviews and research
Estimate your market size and build a market opportunity graph
Write concrete value proposition statements

Module 2

Competition Map

Understanding your competitors is essential to finding your spot in the market. Think you don’t have much competition? Think again! Take on new perspectives and build a Competition Map that will clearly show where you stand.

Define the attributes that you and other solutions compete on
Identify competitors you didn’t know you had
See how you stand out among the crowd
Discover where you can improve your offering

Module 3

Stakeholder Map

Building a company 100% by yourself is almost impossible. Every day you’ll decide: should I do it myself? Delegate? Outsource? Building relationships with your partners, supporters, suppliers and, of course, a great team is key.

Identify all different types of partners and collaborators
Understand the possible value exchange you can have with each one
Decide what you should do in-house and what you should let others do
Explore your distribution channel options and choose the best ones
Create a map of the ecosystem of partners around your business

Módulo 4

Business Model & Marketing

How do you plan to sustain your business and capture your customers’ attention? We’ll help you understand what business model is right for you and start planning your marketing activities.

Learn about different business models
See how your business model could (or should) differ per customer segment
Use design thinking to choose the best one(s) for you
Understand the basics of a marketing funnel and create your own
Estimate your cost to acquire a customer

Módulo 5

Pricing & Business Viability

Are you leaving money on the table by being too shy with prices, or overcharging and losing business opportunities? We’ll help you figure it out by setting your first price point and determining a pricing strategy.

Learn about different pricing strategies and choose yours
Compare your competitors’ price points and strategies
Do customer discovery to understand their willingness to pay
Learn and use a pricing methodology to determine a price point
Estimate your customers’ lifetime value

Módulo 6

Financial Projections

We make it easy even if you’re allergic to numbers. Get a step-by-step handle on all of your financial needs. Month by month, year by year, you’ll be able to estimate your expenses and revenue as you start and build your company.

Determine the funds you’ll need to launch
Project the expenses you’ll have in your first years of operation
Plan for the team you’ll need and their salaries as you grow
Understand the sales targets you’ll need to reach
Account for what it costs you to produce your product or service

Módulo 7

Impact Plan

Changing the world we live in? Building an Impact Plan will help you clarify what system you’re a part of and how you’re trying to influence it. You will also measure the impact you’re actually having on your customers, certain beneficiaries, your sector, or even the world.

Map the system you work within and the elements that govern it
Show how you want to change what’s happening within it
Craft your mission and vision statements
Identify if you are working on any of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
Define how you will measure your impact and track results

Módulo 8

Growth Plan

Once you start your business, you’ll have to constantly adjust priorities to make sure you’re spending your time on the right things. Having solid, measurable objectives is a great way to align with your team and stay on track.

Put your long term goals in writing and draft a plan to reach them
Identify your company’s values
Determine the KPIs you’ll track overtime (Key Performance Indicators)
Set milestones to help you reach your goals
Identify and plan for future risks

Don't forget!

Now you have a go-to-market plan and have the skills needed to take on any challenge!

Make sure to share and grow with The Community, use the space to seek advice, ask for help and connect with other like-minded entrepreneurs.

Questions about the program?

What is the commitment required?

Mentors can always choose when to join a program call. Once you commit the time required is approximately 1.5 hours per week (1h of mentoring session and minimum 30 minutes of review of the work on the platform) for the duration of the incubation program (the average time of our programs is 4 months, although there are some exceptions).

Am I paid as a mentor?

All of the mentors for the Women Innovators in WASH Incubation Program are volunteers.

What technology do I need for the program?

We advise you to have a laptop or desktop computer and preferably one of these browsers: Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox. However, our platform is also suitable for cell phones.

Also, we expect you to have a stable and reliable internet connection both for your weekly review on the platform and to participate in the calls with your entrepreneur via video call.

How will I work and communicate with my entrepreneur?

As a mentor, you will work with your entrepreneurs on the platform. You’ll be able to mark up their business plans using text-based comments and will have access to video chats within the platform so you can talk to them.

What will be my role as a mentor?

As a mentor, you’ll have a positive impact on someone’s life. You’ll meet and connect with entrepreneurs and develop your mentoring skills, exposing yourself to the latest innovation and entrepreneurship methodologies while helping a startup business grow.

You will guide your entrepreneur throughout the Incubation Program using the online modules as your guide. You’ll help your mentee validate their strategies throughout the program and support them through virtual collaboration once a week, on the platform and over video chat.

Can’t find your question here?

Contact Mahmoud, Incubation Manager of the program Women Innovators in WASH if you have any questions.

This program has been built by

For more information, please visit our website