Winners have emerged for the 2023 edition of the African Women in Development Awards.
The award recognises outstanding African women activists, change-makers, government representatives, and social entrepreneurs, who are transforming lives in their communities and countries, helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

Chidi Koldsweat, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Donors for Africa Foundation, organisers of the award, stated that the recognition is aimed at documenting the stories of African women leading change across the continent, enabling them to gain visibility and access new opportunities. It is also designed to become a repository of data, information, and research findings.

She added that in Africa, women deliver impressive innovations every day and largely go unnoticed and their successes are undocumented. The awards are in an effort to ensure that impact stories and best practices in social entrepreneurship are replicated to guarantee consistent development and achievement of the SDGs.
More than one thousand entries from 21 African countries were received after the call for nominations was made.
Finalists were selected following a rigorous research and selection process, by the selection committee, which included government representatives, development experts, and women leaders from Africa.
This year’s celebration of female achievement saw the bringing together of all shortlisted nominees from a rich pool of women across Africa, and the Diaspora, to highlight the impact of their work to develop in the region.
“We celebrate our awardees and applaud their efforts in successfully addressing the challenges posed by events in their communities,” Koldsweat said.
Speaking on the impact that being a past recipient of the award made for her, Uzoamaka Amalu, founder, Project Lead, stated, that ‘’the recognition by Donors for Africa Foundation, led to increased visibility and I was constantly approached by leading brands globally for collaboration and invitations to join CSR/Executive advisory boards. It put me on a different level on the global scene, especially in the development space.’’
Donors for Africa Foundation is a non-profit based in Nigeria, working to reduce the number of African development organisations and non-profits that fail due to a lack of funding and technical expertise. They connect nonprofits and impact investors to opportunities.