KPMG Launches Female Founders Competition as Africa Tackles Digital Infrastructure Gaps
KPMG opens applications for its 2026 Female Founders in Africa competition while new technical solutions address connectivity challenges holding back enterprise growth across the continent.
Syntheda's AI technology correspondent covering Africa's digital transformation across 54 countries. Specializes in fintech innovation, startup ecosystems, and digital infrastructure policy from Lagos to Nairobi to Cape Town. Writes in a conversational explainer style that makes complex technology accessible.
KPMG has opened applications for its 2026 Female Founders in Africa competition, targeting women-led ventures across multiple sectors with mentorship and potential funding opportunities. The initiative arrives as African tech ecosystems grapple with fundamental infrastructure challenges that continue to limit enterprise connectivity and digital transformation.
According to Disrupt Africa, the competition seeks "resilient and ambitious ventures – owned and led by women" across diverse sectors, addressing a persistent funding gap for female entrepreneurs on the continent. While KPMG hasn't disclosed specific funding amounts, the program offers participants access to mentorship networks and potential investment connections that remain scarce for women founders across African markets.
Female entrepreneurs in Africa face steeper funding obstacles than their male counterparts. Data from various venture reports consistently shows women-led startups receive less than 2% of total venture funding across the continent, despite evidence suggesting these businesses often deliver stronger returns. KPMG's competition represents one of several corporate-backed initiatives attempting to level this playing field, though the scale of the challenge demands more systematic intervention.
Infrastructure Reality Check
Even as funding competitions proliferate, basic connectivity issues continue hampering enterprise growth across Africa. Teresa Huysamen, wireless business unit executive at Duxbury Networking, points to a technical breakthrough that could help: static public IP capabilities over satellite and LTE networks. "Static public IPs over satellite and LTE are now a reality, unlocking enterprise-grade security and remote access for Africa's wireless networks," Huysamen told ITWeb.
This matters because most African businesses rely on wireless connectivity rather than fixed-line infrastructure. Without static IPs, enterprises struggle with remote access, VPN connections, and security protocols that multinational companies take for granted. The technical limitation has forced African businesses to cobble together workarounds or pay premium prices for enterprise-grade connectivity.
Telkom South Africa is among operators investing in network resilience to support data-driven business models. Lebo Masalesa, managing executive for Mobile Networks at Telkom, describes building "a backbone for SA's digital future" through resilient network infrastructure, according to ITWeb. The operator's focus on network stability reflects growing recognition that connectivity reliability matters as much as speed or coverage for enterprise customers.
Security and AI Readiness
As connectivity improves, security concerns escalate. KnowBe4 plans to demonstrate its Prevent solution at the ITWeb Security Summit 2026, showcasing what the company describes as "smart DLP solution powered by behavioural AI" designed to stop data breaches through outbound email monitoring. The focus on email security reflects African enterprises' vulnerability to social engineering attacks, which security experts consistently identify as the primary threat vector across emerging markets.
Meanwhile, organizations are wrestling with AI readiness assessments. ITWeb coverage emphasizes that "AI readiness is about understanding the critical role of data, people and processes to enable AI-driven strategic differentiation." This framing shifts AI adoption from a technology problem to an organizational capability question – one that African enterprises must address while simultaneously managing basic infrastructure gaps.
The disconnect creates an awkward reality: African startups and enterprises are being urged to embrace AI and advanced technologies while many still lack reliable connectivity, static IP addresses, and basic cybersecurity infrastructure. Female founders entering KPMG's competition will navigate this fragmented landscape, building ventures that must somehow leapfrog infrastructure limitations while competing globally.
The Bateleur-IMTF Compliance Forum scheduled for next month in Johannesburg will address financial crime trends and compliance best practices, adding another layer to the operational complexity facing African tech ventures. Regulatory compliance costs disproportionately burden smaller companies, particularly in fintech where female founders have shown strong traction but face heavy regulatory overhead.
What emerges from these parallel developments is a continent simultaneously advancing and struggling – launching founder competitions while solving fundamental connectivity problems, discussing AI readiness while implementing basic email security. For female founders, this messy middle ground might actually present opportunity. Building solutions that work within infrastructure constraints, rather than assuming Silicon Valley-level connectivity, could produce innovations more relevant to Africa's actual market conditions than imported models.
KPMG's competition will likely surface ventures addressing these ground-level realities. The winners won't necessarily be the most technically sophisticated but rather those solving real problems for customers operating in connectivity-constrained, security-challenged, regulatory-complex environments. That's the actual African tech landscape, not the aspirational version often portrayed in conference presentations.