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The world’s seven most industrialised countries under the aegis of the G7, have committed about $251 million to help improve access to finance for female entrepreneurs in Africa.
The funding will be provided through AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), a programme supervise by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, announced the funding at a press conference at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, France
“I am particularly proud, as the current G7 president, that the programme we are supporting today, the AFAWA initiative, comes from an African organisation, the African Development Bank, which works with African guarantee funds and a network of African banks,” he said.
Commenting on the funding, Akinwumi Adesina, the AfDB president, said: “This is a great day for African women. Investing in women entrepreneurs in Africa is important because women are not only Africa’s future, they are Africa’s present.
“Currently, women operate over 40 per cent of SMEs in Africa, but there is a financing gap of $42 billion between male and female entrepreneurs. This gap must be closed, and quickly.
“This financing effort for women is the most significant in the continent’s history.”
According to a statement by the AfDB, AFAWA aims to raise up to $5 billion for African women entrepreneurs and the African Development Bank will provide $1 billion.
The G7 is made up of France, United States of America, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Germany and Japan.
For Nigerian women entrepreneurs, the grant would complement the existing assistance by the Central Bank of Nigeria, banks and other development finance institutions that have committed over N220billion to improving their access to business funding.
The apex bank in its bid to encourage Nigerian women entrepreneurs had set aside 60 per cent of the N220 billionin loans for small and medium scales enterprises (SMEs) to get them actively involved in the private sector of the economy.
The remaining 40 per cent of the loan goes to other micro business entrepreneurs such as vulcanisers, hair salon owners, bakers, tailors, as well as other medium-scale businesses that help to promote production of goods in the country.
Meanwhile, Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Mrs Ene Obi, has appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to implement the 35 per cent affirmative action in the appointment of commissioners and other public office holders in the state. Obi made the plea on Wednesday in Lafia at the Nasarawa Women Summit organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with the Global Peace Development and Beacon Youth Initiative. The summit was funded by the Global Communities Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).
