AAAWE’s main activities include organizing a research-based mentoring program. Since 2023, AAAWE has partnered with the World Bank’s THINK AFRICA PARTNERSHIP (TAP) to run a virtual mentoring program. The program operates for 9 months each year, and mentees are selected through a competitive application process. So far, 175 African women (135 students and 40 professionals) from 45 African countries have participated in the program. The program has three main activities:

Mentorship Meetings :The mentorship meetings are based on the successful, evidence-based CeMENT Workshop run by the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Program (CSWEP). Mentors are assigned to 3-5 mentees with similar research interests and hold group mentoring sessions at least once a month. These sessions provide a space to discuss research, offer feedback, and share career development advice. Mentors are experienced African women economists in academia and research institutions, located in Africa and the diaspora.

Monthly Workshops: Virtual monthly workshops offer in-depth training on specific topics relevant to mentees' professional development. Topics covered include grant writing, publishing and ethics, family/work balance, networking, and scientific research communication.

Conferences and Training Programs: Approximately 66 mentees have received full sponsorship to present papers at international conferences, including the Econometric Society Conference in Abidjan in 2024 and the African Finance and Economic Association conference in Nairobi in 2025. Additionally, ten mentees were sponsored to participate in the African Summer School (AFSS), organized by the Econometric Society in Abidjan in 2025.
A summary of the TAP/AAAWE mentoring program for each year is available:

2025 Mentoring Program
Sixty-one women (48 students and 13 professionals) from 21 countries were paired with 18 mentors. The program ran for nine months (December 2023 to August 2024), and mentees met with their mentors at least nine times, about once a month.
Click here for the full report

2024 Mentoring Program
Sixty-four women (45 students and 19 professionals) from 16 countries were paired with 18 mentors. The program ran for nine months (December 2023 to August 2024), and mentees met with their mentors at least nine times, about once a month.
Click here for the full report

2023 Mentoring Program
Fifty women (42 students and eight professionals) from 11 countries were paired with 15 mentors. The program ran for six months (January 2023 to June 2023), and mentees met with their mentors at least six times, about once a month.
Click here for the full report

Please visit this page to hear from past mentees.
Please visit this page for information about past mentees' experiences.
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