AFDB to release $2 billion loans in collaboration with the African Guarantee Fund to support women in Africa
The AFDB in collaboration with the African Guarantee Fund is set to help women in their entrepreneurship journey as they will be releasing the sum of $1.3 to $2 billion loans to African women.
However, the loan will also be supported by some outstanding financial institutions which are yet to be disclosed.
The target of the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program is to ensure that they can get up to 18,000 women entrepreneurs with small and medium enterprises and also create about 80,000 direct jobs.
The African Guarantee Fund’s main goal is to reduce poverty especially in Africa by providing more employment opportunities and also promoting the development of any African economic.
They also do this by implementing guarantee capacity development and products for financial institutions to help support SMEs in Africa.
It is also important to note that the African Guarantee Fund is a non-bank financial institution that was established by the Denmark governments by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Spanish government by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID), and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
They are other companies who are major shareholders in the corporation which involved the French Development Agency (AFD), Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), and KfW Development Bank (KfW).
Below are some of the statements made by some of the major personalities of the agency.
The statement made by Jules Ngankam, who is the African Guarantee Fund’s Group CEO:
- “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 women SMEs portfolio.
- “AGF has always been cognizant of the importance of supporting women SMEs to enable them fully play their role as drivers of economic growth. We are glad the momentum is increasing and that banks are now willing to take on this particular business segment.”
The statement made by Stefan Nalletamby, who is the Bank’s Director of Financial Sector Development
“The signing of the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program with the African Guarantee Fund is a critical milestone for the Bank to successfully deploy on-the-ground financing instruments better suited to addressing the financing and training needs of women-owned small and medium enterprises in Africa for the growth of their businesses.”
The statement made by Esther Dassanou, who is the AFAWA’s Coordinator:
- “There is an urgent need to improve the enabling environment with the right regulations in place, to sustainably de-risk the segment.
- “The Bank will work with regulators to reform the legal and regulatory frameworks affecting women businesses’ access to finance.”
The statement made by Vanessa Moungar, who is the Bank’s Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society,
- “Donor and private sector-support for the overall AFAWA initiative is helping the Bank set ambitious targets for AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program.
- “The entire Bank ecosystem will be at play – inviting more financial institutions to sign into the program – ensuring engagement, implementation, and ownership at the market and policy levels.”
Final Note
The African Guarantee Fund is set to touch the lives of over 18,000 women entrepreneurs in Africa with a loan of over $1.3 billion.
The intention of this program is to eradicate poverty in Africa.