The “Creating Opportunities for Youth and Women in Africa” (COYWA) programme has already achieved excellent results with its first cohort, which comprised 47 young entrepreneurs from 25 African countries who completed a blended training programme covering financial literacy, digital skills, branding and digital marketing. The first cohort achieved a 99 per cent success rate, achieved perfect participant satisfaction scores across all evaluation indicators, and produced 15 graduates who received ‘distinction’, who are now able to act as mentor-facilitators during the programme’s next implementation phase. Building on these results, AUDA-NEPAD and AECID are expanding the programme to a second cohort, using a sub-regional model that combines four weeks of virtual learning with five days of intensive face-to-face training. The first face-to-face training session for the second cohort is scheduled to take place in Praia, Cape Verde, in June 2026, at the Business Lab of the University of Cape Verde, with a target of 75 participants from ECOWAS countries, including 25 from the host country. Click on the ‘Resources’ tab to download the application form.