Women Entrepreneurs and UN SDGs Fellowship 2026: How to Get Global Visibility, NYC UN Week Access, and a Shot at Grant Funding

Some opportunities hand you a check and wish you luck. The WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026 does something sneakier—and often more valuable in the long run. It puts you in rooms where decisions get made, gives you the coaching to speak the language of power without swallowing your mission, and hands you the kind of visibility that can change your fundraising and partnerships for years.

If you’re a woman entrepreneur building a real, revenue-generating enterprise tied to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—clean energy, food systems, health access, decent jobs, climate resilience, gender equity, you name it—this is a global competition that treats you like a leader, not a feel-good headline.

And yes, it’s competitive. The program was launched at the UN General Assembly with serious institutional muscle behind it, and it attracts applicants who are already moving markets and shifting systems. But that’s the point: this is a tough one to win, and absolutely worth the effort if you’re ready for a bigger stage.

One more thing up front: despite the “Africa” tag in the source listing, the Challenge is described as a global competition. So think “international,” not “continent-limited.” Still, if you’re building in or across African markets, your story can be especially compelling—because the SDGs are not abstract there. They’re Tuesday.

At a Glance (Key Details Youll Actually Use)

What This Opportunity Actually Offers (Beyond the Buzzwords)

Let’s translate the headline into reality. The WE Empower UN SDG Challenge is not just a badge you stick on your website. It’s closer to an elite, short, intense leadership sprint—plus a high-stakes demo moment—built around women-led enterprises that are already operating at meaningful scale.

If selected as an awardee, you can expect three big categories of value.

First: capacity-building that’s tailored to growth, not a generic webinar parade. You’ll get pitch workshops and trainings designed to make you sharper in front of investors, partners, policymakers, and philanthropic decision-makers. If you’ve ever tried to explain your unit economics and your social impact in the same sentence without sounding like you’re juggling knives, you know how valuable this is.

Second: visibility that travels. Being recognized in a UN-week orbit tends to create a ripple effect—press interest, inbound partnership requests, warmer intros, and credibility with funders who like to see validation from a known platform. Visibility won’t fix a broken business model, but if your fundamentals are strong, it can pour fuel on the fire.

Third: network access with teeth. The convening is curated networking with people from business, policy, and philanthropy. Translation: it’s not just swapping LinkedIn QR codes. It’s a chance to meet people who can open doors to pilots, procurement, partnerships, and capital—if you show up prepared and specific.

Finally, there’s the moment everyone asks about: the program culminates in a Pitch Challenge—hosted at Diane von Furstenberg’s studio—where awardees present to a panel of judges for a chance to win grant funding. The amount isn’t specified in the listing, so don’t treat it like guaranteed cash. Treat it like what it is: a high-visibility shot to win funding and convert attention into real resources.

Who Should Apply (And Who Should Skip It)

This Challenge is built for women who are past the “promising idea” stage. You need to be running an enterprise with actual operations, actual staff, and actual revenue. That’s not gatekeeping; it’s the program’s way of ensuring the cohort consists of founders who can plug visibility and connections directly into scale.

You’re a strong fit if you identify as a woman entrepreneur and you lead decision-making in the organization. This matters because the program is investing in the person steering the ship, not someone along for the ride.

Your organization must have been operating for at least three years by August 1, 2026. Think of this as proof you can survive the messy middle—supply chain chaos, hiring mistakes, a product iteration that didn’t land, a partner that ghosted. Three years suggests you’ve built muscle.

You also need at least three full-time employees (or full-time equivalents). That can include equivalent staffing structures, but the spirit is clear: you’re creating jobs and running a team, not freelancing solo.

Then there’s revenue: $75,000 minimum annual revenue. For nonprofits, the listing allows donations, grants, and fundraising totals to count as revenue. That’s important—because impact organizations often have blended income. If you’re a nonprofit with earned revenue plus grants, don’t undersell it. Show the full financial picture clearly and confidently.

A few real-world examples of “good fits”:

• A Kenya-based clean cooking company with distribution partners and consistent sales, employing a small ops team, and reducing indoor air pollution (SDG 3, 7, 13).
• A Ghanaian agribusiness processing cooperative that has steady contracts, employs staff, and improves farmer incomes while reducing post-harvest loss (SDG 2, 8, 12).
• A women-led edtech nonprofit in South Africa with proven fundraising, a team, and measurable learning outcomes (SDG 4, 5).

You should probably skip it (for now) if you’re pre-revenue, if you don’t yet employ three FTEs, or if you can’t realistically travel for a multi-day convening (NYC in September 2026, with Geneva as a potential alternative in June 2026). This program expects presence, preparation, and stamina.

The Travel Reality Check: New York or Geneva, Plus Virtual Programming

The listing is refreshingly honest: visa restrictions may shift plans. So the program is considering Geneva as an alternate convening location, during June 14–20, 2026, instead of (or potentially alongside) New York during Sept 19–26, 2026.

What should you do with that information?

Plan like a professional. When you apply, assume you’ll need:

• A passport that won’t expire mid-2026
• Enough lead time to secure a visa (U.S. and/or Switzerland, depending on your nationality)
• A team back home that can run operations while you’re away
• The ability to participate in virtual programming from August through October 2026

In other words: this is not a “pop in for one panel” situation. It’s a commitment.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application (The Stuff People Learn Too Late)

You’re not trying to sound inspirational. You’re trying to sound inevitable. Here are the strategies that usually separate finalists from “great idea, not quite.”

1) Tie your work to one or two SDGs—then prove it with receipts

The SDGs are a buffet. Don’t pile your plate with everything. Pick the goals you most directly advance and show evidence: outputs, outcomes, and why they matter. “We support SDG 5 and SDG 8” is fine. “We increased women’s monthly income by 27% across 1,200 participants in 18 months” is better.

2) Explain your business model like you’re talking to a smart stranger

No jargon, no impact poetry. Who pays you? Why do they keep paying you? What does it cost to serve one customer or beneficiary? If you’re a nonprofit, what’s your funding mix and why is it stable? Clarity reads as competence.

3) Put the founder story in its place: meaningful, not melodramatic

Your personal motivation matters—especially in mission-driven work. But the application can’t be a memoir. Use your story to explain insight and credibility (“I understand this problem intimately”), then pivot quickly to execution (“Here’s what we built, here’s what changed, here’s what comes next”).

4) Treat “decision-making authority” as a selling point

They want leaders, not figureheads. Show how you make decisions: product, strategy, hiring, partnerships, financial control. If governance is shared, explain the structure cleanly so no one wonders who’s actually in charge.

5) Build a tight evidence stack: traction, team, and trendline

Judges tend to love momentum. Show growth over time: revenue, users served, repeat customers, retention, successful pilots becoming contracts, grant renewals, expansion to new regions. One good year is nice. A pattern is persuasive.

6) Prepare for the Pitch Challenge even in the written application

Even if the initial stage is written, the endgame is a pitch. So write with pitch logic: problem → insight → solution → proof → scale plan → what you need. If you can’t say it clearly on paper, it won’t suddenly become clear on a stage.

7) Get ruthless feedback from someone who owes you nothing

Not your best friend. Not your co-founder. Find a tough reviewer: a funder, an accelerator mentor, a finance-minded advisor. Ask them one question: “What part made you skeptical?” Then fix that part.

Application Timeline (Working Backward from March 8, 2026)

If you want to submit something you’re proud of, don’t start on March 6. This kind of application rewards clarity, numbers, and narrative discipline—and that takes time.

6–8 weeks before the deadline (mid-January to early February 2026): Gather your core proof points. Pull revenue documentation, headcount details (FTE calculations), impact metrics, and any third-party validation (press, awards, evaluations). Decide which SDGs you’ll emphasize and why.

4–5 weeks before (early February 2026): Draft your main responses. Aim for clean, direct language. Build a simple “enterprise one-pager” for yourself: mission, model, traction, impact, growth plan.

2–3 weeks before (mid-February 2026): Get outside feedback. Tighten your metrics, simplify your language, and remove anything that sounds like marketing.

Final 7–10 days (late February to early March 2026): Final polish and portal prep. Upload files, confirm formatting, double-check time zones (ET), and submit at least 48 hours early so you’re not bargaining with your Wi-Fi on deadline night.

Required Materials (What to Prepare Before You Touch the Portal)

The listing doesn’t spell out every upload, but competitions like this reliably require a similar core set. Prepare these in advance so you’re not scrambling.

• Founder and enterprise overview: A concise description of what you do, who you serve, where you operate, and what makes your approach distinct.
• Proof of eligibility: Your organization’s start date, your leadership role, your age eligibility, and your ability to participate in English.
• Team and operations details: Headcount with roles, and how you define full-time equivalents if your team is blended.
• Financial snapshot: Revenue totals meeting the $75,000 threshold. For nonprofits, include grants and donations clearly, and don’t forget to explain consistency (multi-year support, renewals, diversified sources).
• Impact metrics tied to SDGs: Choose a few meaningful measures and define them. “Jobs created,” “tons of CO2 avoided,” “patients reached,” “farm yields improved,” “girls retained in school”—whatever fits, but make it measurable.
• Growth plan: What scaling looks like in the next 12–24 months and what would accelerate it (partnerships, capital, hiring, market entry).

If the portal requests references or supporting links, pick items that verify outcomes, not hype—an evaluation report beats a glossy brochure every day of the week.

What Makes an Application Stand Out (How Judges Tend to Think)

Selection panels usually weigh three things, even when they claim they weigh twelve.

Credibility: Do you sound like you’re reporting facts or selling dreams? Numbers, third-party validation, and clear governance build trust fast.

Impact with specificity: The SDGs are huge. Your slice must be sharply defined. The best applications show a direct line from activity to outcome to wider community effect.

Scale potential without fantasy math: “We’ll reach 10 million people next year” is not a plan. It’s a wish. A compelling scale plan names the mechanism: distribution partners, procurement channels, replication playbooks, unit economics that improve with volume, or policy pathways.

Also: they’re selecting people who will represent the program well in high-profile settings. That doesn’t mean you need to be polished like a television anchor. It means you need to be coherent, prepared, and able to discuss your work without hiding behind buzzwords.

Common Mistakes to Avoid (And How to Fix Them)

Mistake #1: Listing every SDG like it’s a bingo card.
Fix: choose one primary SDG and one secondary. Make the case with evidence.

Mistake #2: Confusing activity with impact.
“Held 40 trainings” is activity. “80% of trainees increased income within 6 months” is impact.
Fix: include outcomes and how you measured them.

Mistake #3: Hand-wavy finances.
If you meet the $75,000 revenue threshold, prove it clearly.
Fix: present a clean annual revenue figure and explain revenue sources in plain language.

Mistake #4: Founder story that crowds out the enterprise.
Fix: keep it tight—motivation, insight, then execution and results.

Mistake #5: Underestimating the travel and time commitment.
Fix: show readiness—team coverage plan, passport/visa planning, willingness to attend NYC or Geneva, and ability to participate virtually August–October.

Mistake #6: Writing like a brochure.
Judges aren’t allergic to ambition, but they’re allergic to fluff.
Fix: use concrete nouns, real numbers, and short sentences. Make it easy to believe you.

Frequently Asked Questions (The Practical Ones)

Is this a grant or a competition?

It’s a global recognition and leadership program with training, visibility, and a culminating Pitch Challenge where awardees can compete for grant funding. The listing doesn’t guarantee a fixed grant amount for every awardee.

Do nonprofits qualify even if they don’t sell a product?

Yes. The eligibility notes that for nonprofits, revenue can include donations, grants, and fundraising—as long as the total meets the $75,000 minimum and the organization meets the other requirements.

What counts as three full-time employees or full-time equivalents?

The listing allows full-time equivalents, which generally means part-time staff whose combined hours equal full-time roles. If your team is mixed, be ready to explain your calculation clearly.

What if I can’t travel to the U.S. because of visa issues?

The program notes a possible alternate convening in Geneva due to evolving U.S. visa restrictions. You should apply only if you’re willing to travel to either location during the stated windows.

Do I need to be fluent in English?

You need professional proficiency. That usually means you can participate in trainings, networking, and pitching without an interpreter. If English is your second (or third) language, that’s fine—just make sure your application is clear and your pitch readiness is real.

My organization turns three years old after March 2026. Can I still apply?

Eligibility is based on being in operation for at least three years as of Aug 1, 2026. So your org can still be under three years at the time you apply, as long as it hits the three-year mark by that date.

When will winners be notified?

Awardees are expected to be notified mid-July 2026, according to the listing.

Is this only for entrepreneurs in Africa?

The summary tags mention Africa, but the program is described as the first global competition recognizing women entrepreneurs advancing the SDGs. Use the official portal for the definitive eligibility scope.

How to Apply (Do This Like a Founder, Not a Student)

Start by reading the prompts in the official portal so you can map your story to what they’re actually asking. Then gather your evidence—revenue, headcount, years in operation, impact metrics—before you write a single poetic sentence about changing the world.

Write your application the way you’d pitch a serious partner: crisp, concrete, confident. Show that your enterprise works now, not just in theory. And if you’re selected, be ready to show up—virtually from August through October, and in person in New York City (Sept 19–26, 2026) or potentially Geneva (June 14–20, 2026).

Apply Now (Official Portal)

Ready to apply? Visit the official opportunity page here: https://weempower.awardsplatform.com/