In a significant step towards promoting gender equality and economic empowerment in Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced a groundbreaking initiative to support women entrepreneurs in the Sahel region.
The bank’s Gender Equality Trust Fund will provide a grant of $950,000 to the Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages Program. This funding, in addition to an earlier $3.9 million financing grant, aims to uplift 1,400 women-led enterprises and contribute to the region’s economic resilience and social cohesion.
“We are excited to extend the impact of the program that will reach more than a thousand women entrepreneurs across the Sahel region,” said Malado Kaba, the Bank’s Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society. “We believe one key to building resilient African societies is the inclusion of women in economic development. The program’s wide range of business-related training and coaching – in addition to increasing access to finance – will go a long way toward reaching that goal,” she added.
The Gender Equality Trust Fund’s support aligns with the bank’s overarching initiative, the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program. AFAWA aims to address the staggering $42 billion gender financing gap faced by women-led African enterprises and focuses on promoting gender-transformative lending and non-lending operations.
Investors King understands that Sahel region’s women entrepreneurs face significant barriers in accessing finance, markets, and business development services. To overcome these challenges and unlock their potential, the Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages Program will equip women entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and resources.
This will help increase productivity, employment opportunities, and capacity building in entrepreneurship, core business functions, and management training.
However, to ensure the program’s success, the bank’s Gender, Women, and Civil Society Department conducted three studies and consulted with the Sahel region Chambers of Commerce, these studies help identified women-led businesses that will participate in the program.
Also, the bank supports national statistics offices in collecting gender-responsive data, enabling accurate measurement of the program’s impact.
The G5 Sahel Union of Chambers of Commerce will administer the Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages Program in collaboration with financial institutions and intermediaries. This strategic partnership aims to directly support access to finance for local small and medium enterprises, creating a supportive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs in the Sahel region.
The Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages Program aligns with the African Development Bank’s 2021-2024 Private Sector Development Strategy, its 2021-2025 Gender Strategy, and the 2022-2026 strategy for addressing fragility and building resilience in Africa.
