The Gender Equality Trust Fund of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has allocated a grant of $950,000 to women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises in the Sahel region of Africa, according to an official communique issued by the AfDB on Saturday.
The new package, which targets Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, comes on top of an earlier $3.9 million grant to 1,400 women-owned businesses.
"We are excited to extend the impact of the program that will reach more than a thousand women entrepreneurs across the Sahel region," said Malado Kaba, the Bank’s director for gender, women and civil society. "We believe one key to building resilient African societies is the inclusion of women in economic development. The program's wide range of business-related training and coaching – in addition to increasing access to finance – will go a long way toward reaching that goal."
On this occasion, the AfDB recalled the obstacles women face in integrating into economic life and the benefits in terms of job creation and added value generated by women-owned businesses.
The AfDB also noted the implementation of the Africa Small and Medium Enterprise Business Linkages Program, which aims to overcome obstacles and help African women entrepreneurs develop their businesses.
The bank added that the latest allocation of $950,000 to women-owned businesses is part of the AfDB's 2021-2024 Private Sector Development Strategy, its 2021-2025 Gender Strategy, and its 2022-2026 Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa.