Funding women’s innovative projects revs Africa’s economy

DESPITE Africa's informal sector employing more than 80% of the workforce, it receives little or no attention when it comes to government policy implementation.

This neglect leaves it exposed to the ravages of unavailable financing or expensive credit which slows down the achievement of the sector's full potential in growing the various economies.

While this is the general view, it gets even worse for womenowned enterprises which struggle from age-old patriarchal approaches to doing business as well as the delicate balancing act that women have to innately learn since they are the ones who also run their homes in many cases.

Despite all these challenges, women in business have a big role to play in a post-COVID-19 Africa and could significantly reduce the continent's high dependence on imports of essential food, medical and pharmaceutical items.

As we rebuild our economies after COVID-19 and seek to turn vulnerabilities into opportunities, let us recall that intra-Africa trade is still very low at less than 20% and that women entrepreneurs have a big role to play in boosting this.

Reduced economic activity stemming from lockdowns, curfews and disruptions in international trade have affected the region immensely.

Today, in Rwanda for example, women entrepreneurs head more than 42% of enterprises. They contribute 78% in cross-border trade, and cross-border trade contributes 30% to the gross domestic product.

Women need to be empowered as a pathway for achieving sustainable development goals.

Women with sound and innovative business projects in Rwanda are supported to acquire startup capital from financial institutions through guarantee and grant facilities.

With the pandemic, women are suffering more leading to decreased output.

The disproportionate and negative impact of the pandemic on women and girls, especially in the economic sphere, creates a need to place women at the centre of all response initiatives.

Women should be agents of change for socio-economic transformation, and when their economic development is bolstered, it has a favourable net effect on the welfare of their families.

With the challenges accompanying small businesses stymying their growth, women suffer the brunt of it all since they also have to juggle several other balls in a continent which is home to 16% of the world's population.

Further Afrika