Eligibility
Is ASAP the right fit for your business?
ASAP is designed for a specific stage and profile. Read the criteria carefully — if you tick most of the boxes, we want to hear from you.
Who Can Apply
The 9 eligibility criteria.
Read each criterion as a self-assessment. If you can confidently say yes to all nine, your application will be competitive.
Women-led ownership
Your business must be at least 51% owned and actively managed by one or more women founders.
Formally registered in Ethiopia
Your business must be legally registered with the Ethiopian Trade Bureau or relevant regional authority.
Growth-stage business
You have passed the ideation/prototype stage and are generating revenue or have a proven, repeatable business model.
Minimum 2–3 years of operation
Your business has been operating for at least 2–3 years and has verifiable trading history.
Annual revenue between ETB 500K and ETB 50M
Your most recent 12-month revenue falls within this range, demonstrating real traction without being too large for the program.
Operates in a priority sector
Agriculture, manufacturing, tourism & hospitality, healthcare, or technology-enabled services. Other sectors considered on a case-by-case basis.
At least 3 full-time employees
You have a core team beyond the founder, demonstrating organisational capacity to grow.
Scalable and impact-oriented
Your business model has clear potential to scale and create jobs or economic value for women or underserved communities in Ethiopia.
Full dedication
The primary founder or co-founder can commit a minimum of 20 hours per week to ASAP programme activities throughout the 16-week acceleration period.
What You Commit To
Participation requirements.
Acceptance into ASAP comes with clear expectations. These aren't optional — they're what makes the programme effective for every founder in the cohort.
Attend all scheduled training sessions, workshops, and mentorship meetings (minimum 80% attendance required for certification).
Participate in monthly networking events and the end-of-cohort Demo Day, including preparation sessions.
Share business data for M&E purposes, including financial metrics and employee headcount, at intake, mid-point, and 12-month post-graduation checkpoints.
Self-Check
Not sure if you qualify?
Take our 2-minute eligibility quiz and get an instant answer.
Am I eligible?
Answer 6 quick yes/no questions to find out if ASAP is the right fit for your business right now. Takes under 2 minutes.
Ready to apply?
The application takes around 20 minutes. You'll need your business registration number, a pitch deck (PDF), and your most recent revenue figures.