AfDB introduces women finance initiative
FIRST women beneficiaries of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Guarantee for Growth programme have been introduced by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The AFAWA Guarantee for Growth programmes targets financial institutions to increase their appetite to lend to women who are known to be better payers.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, and to mark the rollout of AFAWA Guarantee for Growth programme, the AfDB and the African Guarantee Fund are showcasing the first beneficiaries of the programme, an innovation aiming to unlock up to US$3 billion in loans to women-led small and medium size enterprises (SMEs).
AfDB’s Director for Women, Gender and Civil Society, Vanessa Moungar, said the programme de-risked women entrepreneurs and enhanced financial institutions' appetite in lending to SMEs.
She said AFAWA Guarantee for Growth programme targeted financial institutions to increase their appetite to lend to women who are known to be better payers, and who reinvested up to 90 percent of their income in the education, health and nutrition of their family and community.
“The African Development Bank has mobilized its resources, and the support of its global partners, in what is to date, our most ambitious effort ever to change the landscape on access to finance for African women entrepreneurs,” Ms Moungar said.
Supported by the Group of Seven countries as well as the Netherlands and Sweden, the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program is implemented in collaboration with the African Guarantee Fund, which works to facilitate access to finance for SMEs in Africa.
Esther Dassanou, Manager of AFAWA said: “The AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program is different and innovative from what is on the market, in the sense that it tackles all the major challenges that women entrepreneurs face in accessing financing and growing their business at the same time.”
The AFAWA Guarantee for Growth programmes targets financial institutions to increase their appetite to lend to women who are known to be better payers.
CHIEF Mumena of the Kaonde has asked the Government to continue financing the Farmer
Input Support Programme (FISP).
The traditional leader said FISP has helped reduce poverty levels at household level and that Government should continue subsidizing agriculture inputs.
Chief Mumena was speaking at his palace in Kalumbila when Nyimba Investments officials led by Head-Sales and Marketing Manager Willings Mulendema paid a courtesy call on him.
“Let’s look at FISP as a survival kit, a game changer, a strategy for making households achieve food security,” chief Mumena said.
He said he was happy that Nyimba Investments was able to supply inputs early during the previous season.
Chief Mumena said
Nyimba should at all times strive to supply inputs early for the wellbeing of the farmers.
The traditional leader encouraged the farmers in the area to commence making their K 400 contribution so that they were not delayed in getting the fertiliser.
“I want to commend Nyimba for ensuring that fertiliser was delivered on time. We saw your trucks rolling out and that meant
easier access to fertiliser . In terms of delivering inputs you did well as Nyimba and I would like to commend you for the job well done,” he said.
And Mr Mulendema said Nyimba has already started procuring fertiliser for the 2020/21 farming season.
He said the company has so far procured 50,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser and was currently in its Lusaka main warehouse. He said they would soon start distributing to other districts where the company has been contracted to supply.
“We have already started procuring and the stocks are in our main hub in Lusaka. We hope to start bringing to areas before the month ends and plan that by June, we should have completed the entire deliveries because we realise that some farmers might be engaged in political activities,” he said.
And Provincial Marketing Coordinator Dennis Munachusa said as a provincial administration , they were happy that Nyimba was able to complete the distribution for the entire province before November 15, 2020.
As a result, he said, farmers were able to get fertiliser early and be able to plant before the planting period.
Currently, he said the provincial administration has commenced preparations for the 2020/21 beneficiaries. Mr Munachusa said the province wants to ensure that the register for FISP beneficiaries was updated so that they did not delay the process of access fertiliser.
“We don’t want to delay our farmers in any way and so we have started preparing the register for the 2020/21 beneficiaries ,” he said.