The AfDB and Entreprenarium have established a partnership under AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa) to support 1,000 women entrepreneurs in five African countries
These two organisations have joined the Gabonese Employers' Confederation (CPG) to implement the programme in Gabon.
Entrepreneurial training and financial planning will be conducted over the next four months in five countries: Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia.
In Gabon, 200 participants will be selected in the application file, with the assistance of the CPG.
Robert Masumbuko, resident representative of the AfDB in Gabon, said, "Gabon is full of talented women entrepreneurs who play a vital role in the country's development. It is important for us to support dialogue to improve their business context in their projects by strengthening their skills, supporting them in financing and engaging in a constructive dialogue to improve the business context.”
Despite the dynamism of women's entrepreneurship and the crucial role played by women entrepreneurs in Africa's economic growth, they still face many obstacles and often lack the skills required to manage their business to access financing, whether at the stage of creation or development of their activities.
While African SMEs are the cornerstone of inclusive development on the continent, women remain the most affected by the funding gap, estimated at US$42bn for all value chains.
Alain Ba Oumar, president of the Confederation of Gabonese employers, explained, “For the CPG, it seems fundamental to place the female entrepreneurship, which is an important segment but still under-represented economically in our country, at the heart of our action for the benefit of SMEs.”
"In Gabon, of the 5,000 companies created on average each year, 28 per cent are women. A figure still considered insufficient by women themselves, who want more financial autonomy. That's why Entreprenarium has focused its mission on supporting women entrepreneurs through the acquisition of managerial tools, access to financing and networking,” concluded Kristine Ngiriye, founder of Entreprenarium.
