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15 Years of Impact
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
15 Years of Impact
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Maya Declaration
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Accords
Impact Stories
Key Policy Areas
Digital Financial Services
Data
Consumer Empowerment
Financial Inclusion Strategy
Inclusive Green Finance
Global Standards Proportionality
SME Finance
Working groups
Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct Working Group (CEMCWG)
Global Standards Proportionality Working Group (GSPWG)
Digital Financial Services Working Group (DFSWG)
Inclusive Green Finance Working Group (IGFWG)
Financial Inclusion Data and Impact Working Group (FIDIWG)
SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG)
Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG)
Regional Initiatives
African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI)
Eastern Europe & Central Asia Policy Initiative (ECAPI)
Financial Inclusion Initiative for Latin American and the Caribbean (FILAC)
Pacific Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI)
South Asia Region Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII)
Arab Region Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (ARFIPI)
Training & Development
AFI Educate online courses
AFI Engage
Certified Expert in Financial Inclusion Policy
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
15 Years of Impact
15 Years of Impact
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
15 Years of Impact
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Maya Declaration
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Accords
Impact Stories
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Key Policy Areas
Key Policy Areas
Digital Financial Services
Data
Consumer Empowerment
Financial Inclusion Strategy
Inclusive Green Finance
Global Standards Proportionality
SME Finance
Global Standards Proportionality Working Group (GSPWG)
Working Groups
Working Groups
Consumer Empowerment and Market Conduct Working Group (CEMCWG)
Digital Financial Services Working Group (DFSWG)
Inclusive Green Finance Working Group (IGFWG)
Financial Inclusion Data and Impact Working Group (FIDIWG)
SME Finance Working Group (SMEFWG)
Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Group (FISPLG)
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Regional Initiatives
Regional Initiatives
African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI)
Eastern Europe & Central Asia Policy Initiative (ECAPI)
Financial Inclusion Initiative for Latin American and the Caribbean (FILAC)
Pacific Islands Regional Initiative (PIRI)
South Asia Region Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII)
Arab Region Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (ARFIPI)
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
Training & Development
Training & Development
AFI Educate online courses
AFI Engage
Certified Expert in Financial Inclusion Policy
Training & Development
AFI Educate online courses
AFI Engage
Certified Expert in Financial Inclusion Policy
!Font Awesome Pro 6.6.0 by @fontawesome – https://fontawesome.com License – https://fontawesome.com/license (Commercial License) Copyright 2024 Fonticons, Inc.
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News

AFI and the African Development Bank launch new partnership to close the finance gap for women entrepreneurs

AFI has announced a four-year partnership with the African Development Bank, aimed at supporting financial policymakers and regulators to increase access to finance for women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs) in Africa. The partnership was announced at AFI’s African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative Leaders’ Roundtable, in the presence of high-level representatives of AFI members from across the African continent.

“Africa has the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs in the world, yet women SMEs in Africa have the lowest rates of access to finance to grow their businesses,” said AFI Executive Director, Dr Alfred Hannig. “This new partnership with the African Development Bank will help financial policy makers and regulators to design innovative and practical responses to close this financing gap, and advance us considerably towards achieving financial inclusion for all.”

“We are thrilled to launch this new chapter in our long-standing relationship with AFI,” said Malado Kaba, the Bank’s Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society. “Over the next four years, we aim to create a new model for gender-sensitive policy and regulatory reforms, which can be applied by governments across the continent to unlock the power and potential of women entrepreneurs.”

The project will be implemented through the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, and represents a new chapter in AFI’s longstanding relationship with the African Development Bank. It builds on previous research in seven African countries, which highlighted the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs when seeking access to finance, including the high cost of financial services and a lack of financial education.

Research will now be carried out in 13 additional countries to identify policies and regulations which could help close this finance gap. AFAWA and AFI will then work with policymakers, financial regulators, and other key stakeholders across all 20 countries, to help them design and implement reforms.