Ecobank has expanded its innovative ‘Ellevate’ financing offer to further assist the growth of Africa’s women entrepreneurs
The bank has expanded its programme — now named ‘Ellevate 2.0’ to become “bigger, better and more inclusive”, it said in a statement, supporting individual entrepreneurs, including those in the formal and informal sectors.
“We recognise and applaud the role that women entrepreneurs play in driving socio-economic impact across Africa and are committed to supporting them at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey,” said Jeremy Awori, Ecobank’s CEO, Ecobank.
“Since the launch of the Ellevate programme we have made significant progress, disbursing over US$200mn in loans, providing business networking opportunities, and offering leadership and capacity-building training for businesswomen.”
From supporting corporate businesswomen, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to individual entrepreneurs, and those in the informal sector, all can now benefit from its enhanced financial and non-financial solutions, he noted.
“Today, Ellevate 2.0 heralds in a new era for gender financing. It is bigger, better and more inclusive, delivering exceptional value to female entrepreneurs and women business leaders. Enhancing our products and solutions for women entrepreneurs to position Ecobank as their bank of choice is an integral component in accelerating the success of our Growth, Transformation and Returns strategy’s objectives. It also supports our group-wide objective of promoting gender equality and contributing to sustainable development.”
The initiative was first established to bridge the gender financing gap for Africa’s women entrepreneurs and to strengthen Ecobank’s commitment to women-owned, women-led, and women-focused businesses.
The enhanced Ellevate 2:0 offer now includes increasing access to finance with unsecured loans of up to US$50,000, competitive interest rates and favourable collateral requirements, as well as accommodating customers with a two-year track record instead of the industry-standard three years.
Ecobank has also pledged to help its clients identify new customers and access new markets across Africa through its innovative online matchmaking MyTradeHub platform.
The enhanced programme will be launched by nine of Ecobank’s affiliates in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe by the end of March 2025.
It will then be rolled-out in phases across all our other sub-Saharan African affiliates throughout the year.
The World Bank estimates that closing the gender gap in Africa could add US$2.5trn to the continent's GDP by 2025, underscoring the urgency of investing in women – not just for social justice, but for a more prosperous and equitable future for all Africans.
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Ecobank to boost Africa’s women entrepreneurs
Ecobank is championing Africa's female entrepreneurs. (Image source: Adobe Stock)
