Africa Must Unlock Women’s Entrepreneurship, Leaders Urge at 2025 AIF Forum

Africa has the highest female entrepreneurship rate globally—24% of all women start businesses—but they face nearly $50 billion in unmet financing needs.

 

At the 2025 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Days, Côte d'Ivoire’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba, delivered a powerful call to action: Africa’s 194 million women entrepreneurs are “gold mines” whose potential remains largely untapped due to financing barriers that stunt economic growth across the continent.

Speaking at a high-level workshop hosted by the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, Kaba emphasized the urgent need for innovative financial instruments, stronger political will, and a transformative shift in how Africa invests in women-led enterprises.

A $50 Billion Gap Despite World-Leading Female Entrepreneurship

Africa has the highest female entrepreneurship rate globally—24% of all women start businesses—but they face nearly $50 billion in unmet financing needs. These women, Kaba noted, perform exceptionally well: their non-performing loan (NPL) rate averages just 2.4%, lower than most national banking systems.

“These figures are more than statistics—they represent talents burned, initiatives extinguished, and economic potential unexploited,” Kaba said. “We cannot tolerate this inefficiency if we aim for Africa’s emergence.”

She stressed that governments and institutions must intervene where capital markets are failing, particularly where profitability is proven but financing is withheld.

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AFAWA: A Model That Works—Scaling Finance with Exceptional Leverage

African Development Bank Senior Vice President Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade urged a shift from traditional guarantee-heavy models toward performance-based incentives that reward banks for lending to women.

AFAWA’s results demonstrate the effectiveness of blended finance:

• Tunisia: Partnership with BTS has supported 6,000 women entrepreneurs

• South Africa: With ABSA, every $1 million donor dollar generated $75 million in financing

  • A leverage ratio of 1:75, unprecedented in development finance

“We are attacking the root of the problem—the cost of credit,” Akin-Olugbade said. “This is modern development finance.”

Digital financial services were highlighted as essential tools.

“A woman in Nairobi or Rabat doesn’t need a traditional branch—she needs a platform,” Akin-Olugbade added.

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Changing the Narrative: Women Are Assets, Not Vulnerabilities

Dr. Jemima Njuki, Director of Gender, Women and Civil Society at the African Development Bank, challenged long-held assumptions about women entrepreneurs.

Africa currently counts 194 million women entrepreneurs, expected to reach 239 million by 2035.

“This is not a vulnerable group. This is the most dynamic and most underserved investment asset on our continent,” Njuki said.

AFAWA has now achieved “proof of concept”:

• $2.8 billion approved,

• $1.33 billion disbursed,

• Through 195 financial institutions in 45 countries

• Supporting nearly 25,000 women entrepreneurs with finance and training

Njuki concluded with a challenge to investors:

“The architecture is ready. The strategy is sound. The women are ready. Are you ready to invest in Africa’s economic champions?”

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Real Success Stories: Women Transforming Industries with Blended Finance

A panel of entrepreneurs showcased how blended finance is reshaping African industries.

Yemisi Iranloye – Nigeria

Founder of Psaltry International, Iranloye shared how gender bias made financing nearly impossible:

“If a man needed to do five things to raise a million dollars, a woman had to do fifteen.”

With blended finance from Alitheia Capital, backed by AFAWA, she transformed her rural cassava enterprise into:

• Africa’s first cassava-based ethanol plant

• A business supporting over 10,000 women farmers

• A model for sustainable agri-processing across the continent

Her story illustrates how strategic finance can convert women-led SMEs into engines of rural transformation.

Unlocking Trillions in Domestic Capital

A second panel explored ways to mobilize trillions of dollars currently locked in:

• Pension funds

• Insurance pools

• Commercial bank portfolios

Much of this capital remains concentrated in real estate, rather than flowing to productive SMEs—which employ a majority of Africa’s workforce.

Experts urged regulatory reforms, risk-sharing mechanisms, and incentives to redirect domestic investment toward women-led enterprises.

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“Blended Finance Must Be Used Massively” – A Call to Action

Minister Kaba closed with a compelling message:

“Blended finance is a strategic tool we must use massively to increase capital access for our entrepreneur sisters and liberate their full potential.”

The 2025 AIF Market Days made one message clear: Africa’s women-led businesses are not just beneficiaries—they are drivers of continental prosperity, and unlocking their potential is essential for Africa’s economic future.