MFW4A webinar: Gender finance as an opportunity during crisis times
Alejandra Rios, Partner at ConsumerCentrix, recently participated in a webinar hosted by Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A).This article originally appeared on Platform Africa’s website.
By Erica Yanice B.Essono Nze-Bekale, Darylle Tangara & Karungi Kajura
Women entrepreneurs represent a real opportunity for financial institutions provided they develop products and services as well as a suitable environment to meet their specific needs
Statistics have shown that female entrepreneurship in Africa is the highest in the world at 24 percent compared to 11 percent South East Asia Pacific and 9 percent Europe. It was also noticed that as borrowers, women entrepreneurs repay better than men. However, they face multiple constraints specific to them (household management, interruption of working life due to maternity and illnesses of their children). In addition, they are more vulnerable in times of crisis, but are better able to proactively seek solutions with Financial Institutions in times of crisis.
Addressing this issue, on 4 March 2021, the Making finance Work for Africa Partnership (MFW4A) in collaboration with the IPC, Horus and IECD Consortium hosted a webinar entitled “Gender finance as an opportunity during crisis times”. This session was the last of a series of four (4) webinars dedicated to banks and microfinance institutions in West and Central Africa within the context of the European Investment Bank (EIB) TA Financial sector programme for these regions.
Platform Africa covered the fourth session, and it dealt with topics relating to the financing of entrepreneurship and finance for women as an opportunity in such a crisis. The goal was to help realise the full potential of the African financial sector and stimulate economic development and reduce poverty.
The session was moderated by Edwige Takassi, from IPC GmBH and member of the Women in Africa Network and the three panellists sharing their insights on this topic were: Kady Traoré, Managing Director of Fin’elle of Group Cofina; Alejandra Rios, Partner at ConsumerCentrix and Head of the African Women Rising Initiative (AWRI) funded by the EIB, and Tania Colantone, Social Development Specialist at EIB.