Wi-Fi Initiative Announces New Round of Funding for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa

Wi-Fi Initiative Announces New Round of Funding for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa

The Women Entrepreneur Finance Initiative (Wi-Fi) has just announced the launch of a new financing round under which the African Development Bank’s Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) Development (AfDB) will receive US$15 million.

AfDB said in a statement that the funding will be used to develop and expand digital financial solutions for women’s small and medium-sized enterprises in Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria.

This fourth round, amounting to $54.8 million, is aimed at approximately 69,000 women entrepreneurs in developing economies who have access to digital technologies and finance.

These funds will enable the facilitation of digital financial inclusion in Africa to develop and implement programs aimed at improving digital access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

The aim, according to the same source, is to bridge the $42 billion financing gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa and improve their operational efficiency, which will enable them to build better after the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This fourth round of Wi-Fi allocation comes at a crucial time. Women economic empowerment is under pressure due to conflict and insecurity, rising prices and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic across the world,” said Barbel Köffler, MP and Secretary of State for the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.

“I am delighted to see our implementation partners creating such strong propositions to support women-owned businesses. Access to technology and finance will be the key to unleashing the potential of women entrepreneurs,” she said.

“Digital financial solutions are essential to improving the quality of life of people in Africa and bridging the gender gap in access to finance,” according to Stephen Nelletambi, Director of the Financial Sector Development Department of the AfDB Group. This funding, which is funded by Africa Women. (AFAWA) program, will be used to not only expand access to finance for small and medium-sized business owners, but to support their economic empowerment and increase their resilience. will also be done for

Three other multilateral development banks received allocations in this fourth funding round. These are the Islamic Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group and the World Bank Group.

The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, known as the We-Fi Initiative, organized by the World Bank Group, is a partnership between 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks and various public and private sector stakeholders. The African Development Bank is an implementation partner, and its Affirmative Action Program in Finance for Women in Africa is a Wi-Fi initiative.

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