Cover Feature / Jules Ngankam, Group CEO, African Guarantee Fund (AGF)

On a crisp evening in The Hague on 17 September 2025, the 3rd Start-Up Night Africa event in The Netherlands took place, hosted by Lionesses of Africa in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event served as a rallying point for improving access to finance, supporting women entrepreneurs building high-growth businesses in Africa. Taking the stage, African Guarantee Fund (AGF) Group CEO Jules Ngankam delivered a message that resonated long after the applause: women are the backbone of Africa’s economies - and when their financial potential is unlocked, the continent’s growth story is rewritten.

Lionesses of Africa Event

Welcome address by Peter-Derrek Hof, Ambassador Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Director Social Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at Start-Up Night Africa on Wednesday 17 September 2025.

Lionesses of Africa Event

Finding solutions to closing the continuing gender finance gap for high-growth women entrepreneurs in Africa and the Netherlands was the key focus of discussion at the 3rd Start-Up Night Africa event on 17 September 2025, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The event was once again hosted by Lionesses of Africa, a fast-growing social impact organisation with 1.8 million women entrepreneurs across the African continent, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands. Opening remarks were delivered by Lionesses of Africa founder & ceo, Melanie Hawken; Peter Derrek Hof, Ambassador Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Director Social Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and a special address was given by African Guarantee Fund Group CEO, Mr Jules Ngankam.

Lionesses of Africa Event

As a key driver of Lionesses of Africa’s ‘Access to Markets and Investment Programme,’ Start-Up Night Africa in The Hague aimed to connect Africa’s high-growth women entrepreneurs to European investment opportunities, and women entrepreneurs in The Netherlands looking to expand their current businesses in Africa. We showcased 10 inspirational women entrepreneurs in growth-mode at the event on 17 September 2025, all looking for new investment, markets, and collaboration opportunities. If you didn’t get to meet each of them on the evening, then take a look at their pitch videos, which have all been published on the Lionesses of Africa website, and make those all important connections now.

by Melanie Hawken, Founder & CEO, Lionesses of Africa

On 17 September 2025 in The Hague, we gathered for Start‑Up Night Africa — our third time hosting this event in the Netherlands, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands, and the seventh event of its kind around the globe. It remains clear why the Netherlands serves so well as our European HQ: it is a hub of innovation, a champion of gender equality, and a bridge for African women entrepreneurs seeking to access new markets and investment.