Atlas Network is pleased to announce that Solidarité d’Actions pour le Développement Intégral (SADI) has won the 2026 Africa Smart Bets Pitch Competition at Africa Liberty Forum in Accra, Ghana.

As the winner of this year’s regional competition, Danny Bahizire, executive director of SADI, impressed the panel of judges with a proposal to expand women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, and civic participation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project, Woman Can, aims to empower women as leaders, entrepreneurs, and advocates for change by combining leadership development, entrepreneurship training, public engagement, and community outreach to advance inclusive development and economic opportunity throughout the country.

The regional Smart Bets winner receives $65,000 and advances to present their proposal at Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner in New York City, where they will compete with the winners from the other regional forums for the opportunity to receive additional Smart Bets funding.

About Danny Bahizire and SADI

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly in the eastern provinces of South Kivu and North Kivu, women continue to face significant barriers to participation in economic, social, and political life. Patriarchal norms limit access to finance, while exclusion from decision-making spaces has restricted opportunities for women and weakened prospects for long-term community prosperity.

SADI is addressing these challenges through Woman Can, an initiative designed to position women as leaders, entrepreneurs, and advocates for change. During its initial phase, SADI trained 43 women in Kabare and 47 women in Bukavu, while its digital awareness campaign reached more than 150,000 people in just three months.

With Smart Bets support, SADI will build on this momentum by training 150 women and girls in leadership, entrepreneurship, and advocacy skills while working alongside policymakers and community leaders to create a more supportive environment for women’s participation. Through an expanded digital and media campaign, the initiative aims to amplify women’s voices and challenge restrictive gender norms, reaching more than two million people. Woman Can will also engage 200 men as allies through workshops focused on gender equality and positive masculinity, helping foster broader community support for women’s leadership.

The Smart Bets Pitch Competition showcases bold, innovative ideas from Atlas Network partners that have the potential to champion freedom and prosperity in their respective regions. Finalists are selected from a competitive pool of applicants and invited to present their proposals live before a panel of judges during Atlas Network’s Regional Liberty Forums. The competition highlights practical, scalable solutions designed to remove barriers to opportunity and strengthen free societies.

This year’s finalists represented a diverse range of organizations working to address pressing challenges through policy reform, technology, education, entrepreneurship, and civil society innovation. Their proposals demonstrate the creativity and impact of Atlas Network’s worldwide community of partners and reflect the strength of this year’s Smart Bets competition.

With this regional victory, Danny Bahizire will have the opportunity to join our other Smart Bets regional champions at Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner in New York City, where they will present their proposal before a new panel of judges for the opportunity to secure additional funding and accelerate their organization’s impact.

Congratulations to Danny Bahizire and Solidarité d’Actions pour le Développement Intégral (SADI) on this well-deserved recognition.