AfDB President Adesina insists women’s access to finance at 2019 Global Gender Summit

The 2019 Global Gender Summit, the first to be held on the continent, kicked off on Monday, November 25 in Rwanda's capital, Kigali with a strong call to surge ahead on gender issues and move from commitment to action. The 2019 Global Gender Summit is co-organized by Rwanda and the African Development Bank.

The President of African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina has called for greater access to finance for African women when he addressed the inaugural session of the 2019 Global Gender Summit.

The session headed 'Unlocking women's access to finance in Africa' had a panel of high-level speakers, including Salimata Diop Dieng, the Senegalese Minister of Women, Family and Gender; Andrew Temu, President of the African Guarantee Fund; Kennedy Uzoka, President and CEO of United Bank of Africa (UBA); Joséphine Anan-Ankomah, CEO of Ecobank Group; and Christine Ngiriye, an entrepreneur.

"When women borrow, they always repay. And 90 percent of them repay their loans without the least problem. So, where is the risk? The problem is prejudice and the banks' lack of flexibility. We must leave this behind to allow women access to financing," President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina said.

Andrew Temu advocated "holding discussions with countries to improve the business environment. What is especially needed is legislation that reassures the banks. There are a number of actors, banks, investors, entrepreneurs and clients operating within the economic market. Everyone needs to be in communication to address the risks."

"It is important that financial institutions support initiatives from women. They have the market gardens and produce to process. They create start-ups in innovative areas. But they lack resources and collateral, and the procedures for accessing loans are complicated. These women have relatively moderate finance needs, just enough to create projects and jobs. They need support from the private sector and the banks to help them weave their way into the economy," Salimata Diop Deng opined.