African development initiatives advance financing for women entrepreneurs

Development finance partners recently convened in Côte d’Ivoire to improve economic opportunities and financial access for women entrepreneurs across Africa. The four-day event, organized by the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), included representatives from the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The program focused on strengthening the ability of financial institutions to serve women-led businesses through digital finance, technical assistance, and guarantees. Participants visited various financial institutions, including NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire, to observe tools used to support women-owned enterprises.

In a separate development, a World Bank mid-term review of the Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion (CAFI) project in Lesotho reported satisfactory progress. The US$52.5 million project, which aims to unlock growth for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), was rated satisfactory in nine of ten assessed areas. The review noted that the project is currently surpassing expectations regarding the percentage of women and youth beneficiaries.