AfDB announces successful applicants for women entrepreneurs project
Entrepreneurship allows innovation of products that drive establishment of industries for job creation.
What you need to know:
- The 10 women entrepreneurship enablers selected are drawn from various countries across southern, east and west Africa.
- The new two-year programme targets associations, incubators, accelerators, and cooperatives that train Africa's women-led businesses.
- It aims to create a profitable pipeline of investable women-led small and medium businesses ready to access finance.
The African Development Bank Group (AFDB), through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (Afawa) initiative, has announced the first group of successful applicants selected for its Women Entrepreneurship Enablers programme.
The 10 women entrepreneurship enablers selected are drawn from various countries across southern, east and west Africa. The new two-year programme targets associations, incubators, accelerators, and cooperatives that train Africa's women-led businesses. It aims to create a profitable pipeline of investable women-led small and medium businesses ready to access finance.
Each successful applicant will receive up to a quarter million dollars in funding through the Bank’s Gender Equality Trust Fund. Afawa’s primary objective is to bridge the $42 billion finance gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa to unlock their entrepreneurial capacity and full potential.
Afawa looks to unlock up to $5 billion for women small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. They will be supported to accelerate their training programmes and increase capacity to reach more women entrepreneurs. The organisations selected are:
AECF, Kenya
Victoria Sabula andAECF work across sub-Saharan Africa. They fund agribusiness and renewable energy innovations aiming to impact 10 million people.
E4 Impact Kenya
It leads E4 Impact to train impact-driven entrepreneurs in Africa and Middle East to leverage the growth of their businesses. E4 Impact has supported over 2,000 women entrepreneurs to date.
Transformational Business Network Africa, Kenya and Uganda
Jacob Zikusooka and TBN support early and growth stage women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses. TBN aims to help 150 businesses in the year 2022.
Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, South Africa
It was founded by Irene Ochem to assist women-owned small businesses by providing knowledge, skills, resources and valuable connections. They boast of over 2,000 graduates to date.
Entrepreneurium, Rwanda
Founded by Kristing Ngiriye, it operates in 13 African countries. They have supported over 3,000 women entrepreneurs to create more than 12,000 jobs across Africa.
Seed Stars, Tanzania
Under Chief Executive Officer Alisee de Tonnac, Seed Stars aims to impact 10 million beneficiaries by 2030 in 25 sub-Saharan countries. This will be done through mentoring, capacity building and introductions to investors across Africa, Europe and the United States.
PAWA, South Africa
Director Alesimo Mwanga and PAWA offer social development and project implementation services. PAWA’s goal is to impact 5,000 women businesses.
Creative Space Startups, Nigeria
Through its director, Grace Oluchi, it runs an accelerator programme targeted at building the capacity of 120 women-led small and medium enterprises in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Graca Machel Trust, South Africa
Led by Melissa Mugyenyi and Grosso Michelle, the trust ensures women remain Africa's development top priority, promoting their leadership in the economic social and political development. It has directly impacted 14,665 women entrepreneurs.
Women in Africa, Nigeria
Under the leadership of Hafsat Biola, it works in all African countries supporting women with training and mentorship programmes. They are determined to impact 3,000 women entrepreneurs by 2024.
