WAAW Foundation (Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Women)

WAAW Foundation, short for Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Women, is an international non-profit founded in 2007. WAAW is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, and registered in the United States, Rwanda and South Africa. Its mission is to empower African women and girls to become transformative leaders through STEM education, leadership and entrepreneurship training.

Registered name

WAAW Foundation (Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Women)

Type

International non-profit (STEM education for African women)

Fields funded

Undergraduate STEM at African universities

Website

waawfoundation.org

Email

scholarship@waawfoundation.org

A PhD student’s response

Dr Unoma Okorafor founded WAAW Foundation while she was a PhD student, driven by a desire to see more women of African descent healthy, educated and building their communities. Describing herself as a lonely African female voice in technology, she set out to create lasting ways to support African women in technology innovation. WAAW believes that “the woman is the pivot of the family and the family is the pivot of the community”.

WAAW describes its giving as funding “change, not charity”, and aims to increase the number of African women in STEM by 10% and build female innovators who create 10 000 jobs.

The 2026 scholars

In 2026, 1 122 young women from 27 African countries applied for the WAAW scholarship, and WAAW selected 50 scholars. WAAW noted that 112 applicants came from South Africa, even though South Africa had no existing local WAAW chapter. WAAW described reading applications from girls who faced two-year financial gaps after school while brothers were sent to classes, and from young women whose mothers work as nannies or small-scale farmers to buy textbooks.

WAAW scholars mentor secondary school girls through outreach; WAAW says 30 000 secondary school students are about to meet mentors who look like them, from software developers to biomedical researchers. WAAW supports a network of more than 50 university STEM chapters run by past and current scholars, according to a provider record checked in August 2026.

The scholarship

WAAW’s scholarship supports female undergraduates studying STEM at African universities, including in South Africa, usually with up to about US$1 000 a year towards university costs, plus mentoring. Applicants need a strong academic record, financial need and willingness to volunteer in WAAW’s STEM outreach. The last cycle opened in mid-September and closed on 30 November.

How to research WAAW

Read WAAW’s 2026 scholars announcement to understand what the selectors value, and describe a real barrier you have overcome. South African applicants could offer to help start a local chapter, since none existed in 2026.

See the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science grant for postgraduate women.