AWISI and SportsBiz Africa to put women at the centre of sports business

The African Women in Sports Initiative (AWISI), a platform bringing together and advocating for women working across Africa’s sports industry, has partnered with SportsBiz Africa to create more opportunities for women to participate in conversations shaping the continent’s sports business.

The partnership will formally be signed during the SportsBiz Africa Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, where AWISI and SportsBiz Africa will co-host the inaugural Women in Sports Business Roundtable on September 9, ahead of the main forum from September 10–11, 2026.

According to AWISI Media Director Lynne Wachira, the partnership gives African women an opportunity to take conversations affecting them to a much bigger platform.

“The partnership between SportsBiz Africa and AWISI is a huge win for African women in sports,” she says.

“The Rwanda summit is one of the biggest sports summits globally, and this year women will have a unique opportunity to bring important conversations to a room where all stakeholders are gathered,” Wachira told Vision Sports.

AWISI has built a growing network of women across the continent, with more than 800 women on its WhatsApp platform, in addition to its wider social media community.

The organisation’s work is centred on connecting women in sport, creating spaces for knowledge sharing and experiences, and strengthening their position within an industry where opportunities and decision-making spaces have not always been equally accessible.

Wachira further said the partnership with SportsBiz Africa is particularly important because it connects that network to a broader sports-business ecosystem.

The inaguaral Women in Sports Business Roundtable will bring together leaders, athletes, sports federations, entrepreneurs, administrators, policymakers, investors, development partners and other key stakeholders for an intimate conversation on issues affecting women in sport.

The discussions will include safety and governance, economic empowerment, storytelling and visibility, with a focus on practical solutions rather than simply identifying the challenges.

This partnership is also about moving women closer to the conversations around investment and the commercial development of sport.

Wachira stated “SportsBiz Africa platform aligns closely with AWISI’s mission because the SportsBiz Forum was established to promote sport as a driver of sustainable socio-economic development on the continent.”

The forum will explore opportunities around investment in sport, sports infrastructure, private-sector participation, innovation and building a sustainable and commercially viable sports industry in Africa.

It is a conversation from which AWISI wants its members to benefit directly.

That creates a pathway for women to move beyond simply participating in sport and begin building and commercialising opportunities within the industry.

Why SportsBiz Africa wanted AWISI

SportsBiz Africa Project Lead Bridget Umutoni shared with Vision Sports that the partnership was also driven by a gap the organisation had identified through its previous forums.

SportsBiz Africa has held two editions of the forum, bringing together stakeholders from Africa and beyond.

“SportsBiz recognised that women were still being left behind in some of the conversations,” Umutoni said.

“Their voices needed to be deliberately brought into the room and AWISI already had a network through which that could happen,”

“We have been working in isolation, so AWISI brought the solution for us to hold us and push this agenda with intentionality, and women to be represented and well positioned,” Umutoni addressed.

One of the opportunities already available is the 2026 SportsBiz Africa Masterclass Series, where 27 participants (15 women and 12 men) across Africa are being equipped with skills in areas such as sports commercialisation and strategic partnerships, with opportunities to develop and pitch projects and business ideas to investors.

Additionally, Umutoni said AWISI had done significant work in building a network of women across Africa, creating an opportunity for SportsBiz Africa to connect its sports-business platform with a community already working to advance women in sport.

The result will be the inaugural Women in Sports Business Roundtable in Kigali, co-hosted by the two organisations.

For SportsBiz Africa, the roundtable is not intended to sit separately from the wider business conversation taking place at the forum.

The SportsBiz Africa Forum, held in partnership with the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) and Rwanda’s Ministry of Sports, will run under the theme “The Nexus Between Sports and Business Towards Africa’s Development.”

The forum will look at the practical applications and strategic opportunities sport presents for businesses, investors and governments across the continent, while also examining the place of marginalised groups, including women, youth and people living with disabilities.

That wider setting is what makes the women’s roundtable significant.

Women will not only have a dedicated space to discuss their experiences, they will have access to the wider ecosystem of investors, businesses, policymakers, federations and sports leaders gathered in Kigali.

There is hope that this partnership can grow bigger. 

“We hope the relationship with AWISI will develop into a long-term partnership, creating more impactful engagements for women in African sport,” Umutoni concluded.