This initiative, backed by the African Development Bank's "Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa" AFAWA and the "Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative" We-Fi, addresses the limited access to funding, a major hurdle for women entrepreneurs in Africa. Despite Africa having the highest rate of female entrepreneurship globally, women entrepreneurs face an estimated funding gap of $49 billion. The program will leverage AXIAN Group's digital financial service platforms, Mixx and Mvola, to offer digital lending, financial literacy training, business development services, and digital inclusion initiatives.
It comprises two main components: providing tailored digital financial products and services to 34,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises led by women in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Senegal, and offering training in financial literacy, digital skills, and entrepreneurship to 25,000 women in Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo, and Comoros. The program will utilize mobile payment services, digital lending solutions, and alternative credit scoring to reach women entrepreneurs traditionally underserved by conventional financial systems. Erwan Gelebart, CEO of AXIAN Digibank and Fintech, stated that the challenge lies not in entrepreneu