Browsing: women entrepreneurs

• Stanbic Bank has revealed that it has empowered over 45,000 women entrepreneurs in the last three years
• Under its DADA initiative, the bank further revealed it had provided innovative solutions to women amounting to KSh 6.9 billion  ($58.5 million) in lending
• As a way of supporting women growth, the bank has been providing training and capacity building which have so far benefitted more than 17,000 women

Kenyan-based lender Stanbic Bank has revealed that it has empowered over 45,000 women entrepreneurs in the last three years.

The bank further revealed it had provided innovative solutions which have enabled Dada’s access KSh 6.9 billion  ($58.5 million) in lending.

The bank has additionally provided credit guarantee schemes to the tune of over KSh 1 billion ($8.4 million) and over KSh 40 million ($339,587) in grant funds.

Under the credit guarantee scheme, the bank is working with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and the …

Sahera Sumar is the epitome of what a global citizen represents. Having travelled to over 25 countries and delivered programs to diverse industries, sectors and cultures, Sumar has become a beacon of strength, knowledge and hope for women all over the world.

Equipped with her passion for capacity building and her expertise in leadership, talent and organisational development, Sumar is set to embark on her next big project.

The project; Worldwide SHEroes, will see successful global leaders engage, empower, enable and mentor women leaders; sculpting them into women who are admired or idealised for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Worldwide SHEroes will provide women around the world with a global network of mentors and leaders who will share their collective wisdom. The goal of the platform is to accelerate the journey of women into positions of leadership and influence while at the same time improving their economic equity …

The African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program agreed to partner with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) to provide $1.3 to 2 billion in loans to women-owned Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, by working with financial institutions to enhance their ability to lend to women.

This comes after the launch of AFAWA’s Guarantee for Growth (G4G) program whose objective is to make available up to $3 billion in financing for women entrepreneurs through de-risking and technical assistance measures. Financial institutions in  Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda are signing on to the program.

“As the implementing partner of AFAWA’s Guarantee for Growth program, we are already observing an increased appetite from banks for this innovative product that seeks to support women entrepreneurs. We have recently signed agreements with leading banks on the continent who are keen to increase their …

Agri-SMEs in East Africa face an acute need for finance tailored to their specific requirements.…

The female economy is the world’s largest emerging market and could potentially add US$12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025. …

The disproportionate and negative impact of the pandemic on women and girls, especially in the economic sphere, creates a need to place women at the centre of all response initiatives.…

Absa Bank Kenya has announced a Ksh10 billion fund to advance credit to women-owned small and medium enterprises over the next five years.

The kitty comes as part of the new customer value propositions under the Absa brand.

The women fund is part of the bank’s commitment towards advancing diversity and inclusion by empowering women with financial resources and capacity building to grow their businesses.

The money will be availed to women entrepreneurs through the existing banking products including unsecured and secured loans, trade finance, asset finance, property finance and working capital facilities.

“Women form over 50 per cent of the local and global population and account for a significant percentage of the SME sector. However, their participation in the national economic development is often stifled by limited access to financial resources and social-cultural restrictions. We are confident that this proposition, coupled with the additional interventions we continue to make, …

RENEW and the Impact Angel Network (IAN) have committed capital to a fund dedicated to investing in women-owned and led companies in Ethiopia and Uganda.

RENEW and the IAN, now one of the most active investment groups in East Africa focusing on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), designed the fund to address a pressing need to close the financing gap for women-owned companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Some of the investors are meeting this week at the third Impact Angel Network (IAN) International Gathering in Washington, D.C.

RENEW, with its largest office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, manages the IAN’s investment operations and provides investment advisory and consulting services in support of its investments.

RENEW’s work in Ethiopia was piloted with USAID and is currently undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. The project, Accelerating Business Growth, aims at sustainable job creation for low-skilled workers, …