African Women Leadership Fund to bolster women-owned businesses

ECA’s Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe announced that plans are underway to set up the African Women Leadership Fund  to help speed up the growth of women-led businesses around the Continent.
Speaking in Nouakchott at a joint AU-EU High Level side event titled, “Women in Power”, Ms, Songwe said, “Depending on the resources we raise, and with our target being five hundred million dollars, we will create a network of young women fund managers, train them for two years and put them out in the market.”
The innovative Fund seeks to address the fundamental gap in the access of women to finance architecture. As such, it will seek to lower the hurdles of women-owned businesses, promote investments in micro enterprises and take women’s cooperatives to the next level.