AWEF membership
Rise with women who understand your journey.
AWEF began in 2006 when African women in Nottingham built the circle they needed. Membership puts you inside it: people who have your back, practical support to grow your career, business and voice, and the power to open the door for the next woman.
Founding year. Join a paid membership by 31 December 2026 and keep your founding rate for as long as you stay.
Why women join
Talent was never the problem.
Often the only one in the room
Qualified and capable, and still explaining where you are from before anyone hears what you know.
Everyone leans on you
Family here, family back home, your community. Very few people pour back into you.
Ambition without a network
The ideas and the drive are there. The introductions, the rooms and the people who open doors are not.
Inspired on Saturday, stuck on Monday
One-off events lift you for a day. Real change needs people who keep showing up.
Access, belonging and people in your corner. AWEF membership gives you all three, month after month, with an organisation led by African women who have walked this road.
Find your place
What brings you to AWEF?
Choose the line that sounds most like you and we will show you where to start.
- I need help or advice nowFree support, no membership needed
- I want to connect with women who get itBelong · Free
- I’m growing my career or businessRise · £15 per month
- I’m ready to lead and be heardLead · £30 per month
- I want to lift other womenChampion · £100 per month
- I represent an organisationPartner with AWEF
Memberships
Choose how you will rise.
Start free and grow when you are ready. Each paid membership includes everything before it, and every one helps keep AWEF’s support free for women who need it most.
Belong
For every woman, whatever her story or status.
Join freeFreealways
What every member gets
- Community events and open forumsMeet women who understand your journey, in person and online.
- The AWEF newsletterNews, events and opportunities, sent straight to you.
- Free empowerment resourcesPractical guides and tools you can use straight away.
- Members’ networkingConnections that begin with shared experience.
- A voice in AWEF’s workListening sessions and consultations that shape what AWEF does next.
Rise
For the woman investing in herself: confidence, career and business.
Reserve my founding place£15per month
Less than 50p a day
Or £150 a year: two months free
Everything in Belong, plus
- The Monthly CircleA live members’ session every month: a masterclass, a peer mastermind or a hot seat on the challenge in front of you.
- A mentor in your cornerBe matched with an experienced mentor, or become one yourself.
- The Opportunities BriefJobs, funding, training, board and speaking calls, gathered for AWEF members.
- Member ratesPay less for AWEF training, workshops and events.
- Get foundList your skills or business in the AWEF members’ directory.
Lead
RecommendedFor the woman ready to step up, be seen and be heard.
Reserve my founding place£30per month
Less than £1 a day
Or £300 a year: two months free
Everything in Rise, plus
- Leadership and enterprise trainingAWEF’s Advocacy and Leadership pathway and AWEF Hub enterprise support: governance, public speaking, committees and business planning.
- One-to-one coachingA yearly session with an AWEF coach to set your direction.
- The Leaders’ TableA quarterly conversation with AWEF’s leadership and invited guests.
- The SpotlightMembers featured in turn on the AWEF website and in the newsletter.
- Premium workshops, first accessPriority places at AWEF’s premium workshops and events, including AWEF @ 20.
- Resource hub and workspaceUse AWEF’s resource hub and workspace for your own work.
Champion
For established women and allies ready to lift others and build a legacy.
Reserve my founding place£100per month
Or £1,000 a year: two months free
Everything in Lead, plus
- Lift a woman with youYour membership includes a Rise membership for a woman you choose, or one AWEF matches for you.
- Funded project collaborationDevelop funded community projects with AWEF.
- International networkingIntroductions across AWEF’s international network of leaders, entrepreneurs and investors.
- Recognition and media featuresRecognised as an AWEF Champion across AWEF’s platforms and media.
No payment today. Reserve your place and the AWEF team will call to welcome you and set up your membership with you.
Representing an organisation?
Organisations work with AWEF as partners, through referrals, joint delivery, employment pathways, training, research and sponsorship.
Founding membership · AWEF’s 20th year
Join in our 20th year. Become a founding member.
The women who join now will shape what AWEF membership becomes, and we want to thank them properly.
Founding places close on 31 December 2026.
Claim my founding placeYour founding rate, kept
The price you join at stays the same for as long as you remain a member.
A personal welcome
A call from the AWEF team to get you settled and connected from day one.
Your name in AWEF’s story
Founding members are named on the AWEF @ 20 founding roll.
Founding places apply to Rise, Lead and Champion. Every paid member can pay yearly for two months free, and cancel at any time.
Why AWEF
Twenty years of showing up for African women.
Before membership, there was the work. AWEF has supported African women, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and families since 2006, and its leadership is rooted in the communities it serves.
- 2006Founded in Nottingham by African women with lived experience of migration, refuge and the asylum system.
- 88%Completion in an ESOL pilot with 95 learners, as reported by Nottingham City Council.Read the council’s page
- BIHRThe British Institute of Human Rights documents AWEF’s co-design of a human-rights guide based on migrant and asylum-seeking women’s experiences.Read about the partnership
- 1191388Registered charity number. AWEF answers to its trustees and the Charity Commission.
The people leading AWEF
Marigold Katsande
Chair
Registered Mental Health Nurse and Personal Performance Coach
Preston R. Harris
Chief Ambassador and Investor
Founder and CEO, Hunters Mastermind
Gwendoline Mutambanengwe
Welfare Officer and Fundraising Lead
Founder, CIATA Foundation
Cllr Faith Gakanje-Ajala
Founder and Executive Director
“AWEF played a very huge role. We thank God that I’m tumour-free. We cleared the hospital bill and everything needed for my wellbeing. May God bless you abundantly. Words are not enough, but thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.”
Questions
Everything you need to decide.
Rather talk it through? Call 07425 580561, Monday to Friday, 09:00–17:00, or email info@awef.org.uk.
I cannot afford a paid membership. Can I still belong?
Yes. Belong is free, always, and needs no card. Every woman is welcome, whatever her story or status.
Do I need a membership to get help from AWEF?
No. Support is free for women who need it, member or not. AWEF is not a regulated legal-advice provider: where a matter needs specialist or legal advice, we connect you with qualified professionals. AWEF is not an emergency service: in immediate danger call 999, and press 55 if you cannot speak.
Who can join?
Anyone who shares AWEF’s commitment to African women, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and their families. AWEF is African women-led, and allies are welcome at every level.
What does founding membership mean?
Join Rise, Lead or Champion by 31 December 2026 and the price you join at stays the same for as long as you remain a member. Founding members also receive a personal welcome call and are named on the AWEF @ 20 founding roll.
How do I pay?
Reserve your place today with no payment. The AWEF team will call to welcome you and set up your membership and payment with you.
Can I pay yearly?
Yes. Pay for 10 months and get 12: two months free every year.
Can I cancel?
Yes, at any time. Your paid benefits continue to the end of the period you have paid for, and Belong stays free.
Is every group open to every member?
Some groups and programmes are reviewed by AWEF before you join, so they stay safe and appropriate for the women who use them. We handle your details with care, as our privacy notice explains.
Where does my membership fee go?
AWEF is a registered charity (number 1191388). Membership income pays for the circles, training and events members take part in, and helps keep AWEF’s support free for women who need it most.
Can my organisation join?
Organisations work with AWEF as partners rather than members, through referrals, joint delivery, employment pathways, training, research and sponsorship.
Your circle is waiting
Start free today. Rise when you are ready.
Belong costs nothing. Founding places in Rise, Lead and Champion close on 31 December 2026.