Product of the Day
#WorkersDay: Boost for Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative
We-Fi has announced a $15-million round of funding for women entrepreneurs, to improve access to finance in developing countries in Africa
The Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) has announced funding of $15-million to develop and extend digital financial solutions to women-owned small and medium businesses in Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria.
The funds will go to the African Development Bank’s Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI), as part of of a total $54.8-million, which will benefit almost 69,000 women entrepreneurs in developing economies.
The funds will enable ADFI to design and implement programs to improve digital access to finance for women entrepreneurs, and improve their operational efficiency to build back following the Covid-19 crisis.
“We-Fi’s fourth round of allocations comes at a crucial time,” says Bärbel Kofler, parliamentary state secretary of Germany’s Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. “Women’s economic empowerment is under pressure due to conflict and insecurity, rising prices and the continuous fallout from the Covid pandemic around the world. Access to technology and financing will be key to unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs.”
The funding is complementary to the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa Initiative (AFAWA).
We-Fi, hosted by the World Bank Group, is a partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders. The African Development Bank is an implementing partner, and AFAWA is a We-Fi initiative.
* For more information, visit www.we-fi.org
