Affirmative Finance Action for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa (AFAWA)

Climate Fund
iSustain score 75

The Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) is a flagship initiative by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) aimed at closing the $42 billion financing gap faced by women entrepreneurs across Africa. It seeks to unlock up to $5 billion in financing for women-led businesses by 2026, promoting gender-inclusive finance and empowering women to participate in Africa’s economic development fully by targeting three pillars: Access to Finance: Utilizes AfDB’s financial instruments like lines of credit, trade finance, and equity investments. Introduced the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth (G4G), a pan-African risk-sharing mechanism to reduce collateral requirements and unlock up to $3 billion in financing for around 27,000 women-led businesses Technical Assistance: Provides advisory services to financial institutions. Offers training and mentoring to women entrepreneurs to improve business productivity and financial literacy Enabling Environment: Works with governments and regulators to reform policies that hinder women’s access to finance. Supports legal and regulatory changes to foster a more inclusive financial ecosystem

Geographic focus

Central Africa
East Africa
Middle East
North Africa
Pan-African
Southern Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
West Africa

Sector appetite

Climate Adaptation
Climate Mitigation
Gender

Fund size

Target to mobilise $5 billion in financing for African women entrepreneurs (with African Guarantee Fund)

Eligible recipients

Private sector

Co-financing requirement

No formal co-financing requirement

Instruments & open calls

What a client can actually approach this organisation for, and how access works.

No instruments or open calls profiled yet for this organisation.

Members-only detail for Affirmative Finance Action for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa (AFAWA)

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