AFRICA – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of the World Bank, has announced the names of 100 women-led startup owners selected to participate in the She Wins Africa program.
She Wins Africa is an IFC-led initiative that aims to accelerate access to capital for women-led startups across sub-Saharan Africa.
The selected women will participate in comprehensive interventions that will strengthen their companies’ investment readiness, include advice and mentorship, and provide access to potential investors, industry leaders, and peers through matchmaking and pitching opportunities across Africa.
The initiative is a part of IFC’s broader commitment to promote gender equality and empower women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
“IFC’s She Wins Africa empowers women entrepreneurs through coaching, training, and financing, accelerating their growth and investment readiness throughout sub-Saharan Africa,” said Nathalie Akon Gabala, Director of Gender and Economic Inclusion at IFC.
“It’s time for investors to step up and fund women. A strong entrepreneurship ecosystem benefits us all.”
The 100 participants announced were drawn from almost 3,000 applicants comprising women entrepreneurs across Africa in sectors ranging from ag-tech, climate-tech, e-commerce, ed-tech, health-tech and fintech etc.
In addition to the investment-readiness program for the 100 selected participants, She Wins Africa will roll out other initiatives, including a bootcamp to help lead 200 pre-seed women-led startups into acceleration phase, an initiative to open up acceleration support for an additional 200 women-led startups in areas where such support is not easily available.
It will also roll out a program to create a coalition of funds, venture capital firms and gender-lens investors to improve access to finance for women and their businesses across Africa.
The announcement follows the launch of the She Wins Africa program at the Africa CEO Forum in Côte D’Ivoire in 2023.
She Wins Africa is the second initiative of its kind, following IFC’s She Wins Arabia program which has supported 170 women entrepreneurs and more than 35 Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) in North Africa and the Middle East since 2021.
Currently, only three percent of startup funds in Africa goes to women. This project aims to change that.
They also want to make sure that women have the same opportunities as men to start and grow successful businesses.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurs globally, with approximately 26% of female adults involved in entrepreneurial activity. However, according to a 2021 World Bank report, African women founders receive only about three per cent of start-up finance.
Another “Women and Online Learning in Emerging Markets” report released by IFC 4 months ago indicated that one in three Nigerian women surveyed reported positive career or business outcomes after taking online courses, including finding a new job, setting up a business, or improving job performance.
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