The African Development Bank Group’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative has launched its second call for proposals for the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers programme, targeting women’s business associations, incubators, accelerators, women-led cooperatives, and civil society organisations,promoting the development of women entrepreneurs on the continent. AFAWA aims to unlock $5 billion in financing for small and medium-sized enterprises owned and managed by women by 2026.
It is offering grants of up to $250,000 to organisations helping prepare African women-led businesses to drive the continent’s economies.
The programme supports projects that enhance the viability and sustainability of formal women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and enables them to access financing opportunities to grow their businesses.
The bank said successful proposals will demonstrate innovative approaches to building a supportive ecosystem for women’s entrepreneurship, aimed at improving access to finance for women SMEs.
It said enablers are expected to develop a comprehensive and sustainable capacity-building programme to enable access to finance in partnership with financial institutions. It said applicants from all 54 African countries are welcomed, including organisations in the Sahel region and North Africa .
