AfDB plans $2bn support for women-owned SMEs

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has disclosed plans to increase its funding support for women-owned small businesses from $ 1.7 billion to $2 billion through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative.

Marie Akin-Olugbade, vice-president, regional development, integration and business delivery complex, AfDB stated this in Abuja on Monday, during the bank’s workshop on bankable business proposals/ business plans for youths and women in agriculture.

According to Akin-Olugbade, women entrepreneurs in Africa face multiple challenges in accessing finance and resources, with an estimated $42 billion financing gap. She added that approximately 41 percent of the businesses in Nigeria are led by women, and nearly 23 million women run micro-businesses.

She explained that only 10 percent of commercial loans in Nigeria are directed to women, similar to what persists in other sub-Saharan African countries, according to a recent International Trade Centre study.

“Through initiatives like the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), we are breaking down the barriers that have for far too long limited their potential. We know that when we empower women in agriculture, we empower entire communities.

“Many studies such as that of Africa Technology Business Network (), show that women in Africa typically reinvest up to 90 percent of their income in education, health, and nutrition for their families and communities, compared to up to 40 percent for men. Imagine the transformative power if we fully support women’s businesses. Women are bankable.

“By the end of this year, AFAWA is expected to increase the total amount of approved funds from $1.7 to $2 billion to support up to 30,000 women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises,” she said.

She explained that together with the French Development Agency and other partners, the bank was establishing Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks across Africa to strengthen service delivery to ecosystems and entrepreneurs.

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According to her, the board of directors approved the first $16 million funding for Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks in Liberia, and $12 million in funding for a similar bank in Ethiopia, adding that several countries, including Nigeria, have expressed interest in the Bank’s quest to create youth-based wealth.

She also said that in Nigeria, together with the Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the bank provided $520 million to support the establishment of Special Agricultural Processing Zones in seven states and the FCT, which will allow private agribusinesses to establish industries that process and add value to agricultural commodities.

The bank, according to her, also provided $134 million to Nigeria for emergency food production to help reduce food prices by boosting local production of wheat and cassava under the National Agricultural Growth Scheme.

In his remarks, Abubakar Kyari, the minister of agriculture and food security, reiterated the commitment of President Tinubu-led administration to agriculture and food security, stating that its activities were critical to achieving its agenda.

According to the minister, the government was willing to support 21.1 percent of Nigerian youths willing to participate in agriculture.

Also speaking at the workshop, Lamin Barrow, AfDB director-general (West Africa Region) said that youths provided a substantial reservoir of talent for innovation, creativity, and boundless energy to drive the revitalisation of the agriculture sector.