|
Waiting to Exhale
By Wendy Teleki, Head of the We-Fi Secretariat
2022 was a big year for We-Fi, as we launched our second five-year strategy and delivered strong results, including a cumulative $1.2 billion in funding to women entrepreneurs through We-Fi supported projects. Yet while the pandemic has receded, it still feels like we are holding our collective breath as a host of new challenges face women entrepreneurs and the partners that serve them. While we continue to work day-in and day-out with partners around the world to deliver new solutions and remove constraints, there is still so much more to do. Read full blog
|
|
Implementing Partner Updates
|
|
ADB:
ADB, VPB ink $500m financial package for women-owned SME's social projects in Vietnam
The financial package will help VPB design new products and procedures to enhance its support to WSMEs. A $750,000 performance-based grant funded by We-Fi will incentivise VPB to expand its services to female borrowers and undertake a first-of-its-kind randomised control trial study in Vietnam on financial inclusion for WSMEs. Read more...
|
|
|
EBRD:
EBRD supports green and inclusive lending in Uzbekistan
EBRD is creating new growth opportunities for grassroots businesses in Uzbekistan by providing a financial package of US $10 million to one of the country’s largest private lenders, Ipak Yuli Bank. Of the total amount, $4 million is provided under the EBRD’s Central Asian Women in Business Programme, supported by grant funding from We-Fi. Read more...
|
|
|
AfDB:
African Development Bank’s AFAWA initiative asks business enablers to apply for second round of funding to support Africa’s women-led businesses
The African Development Bank Group’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative is launching its second call for proposals for the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers program, targeting women's business associations, incubators, accelerators, women-led cooperatives, and civil society organizations that promote the development of women entrepreneurs on the continent. Read more...
|
|
|
AfDB:
African Development Bank, First City Monument Bank signed agreement for line of credit to bolster access to finance for women-owned businesses
AfDB has signed an agreement with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) for a $50 million line of credit to support access to finance for small and medium-sized and women-empowered enterprises. AfDB is also providing a complementary technical assistance package of $285,000 under its AFAWA initiative. The grant funding, provided by We-Fi, will support enhancing financial literacy, business management and entrepreneurial skills for WSMEs as well as strengthening FCMB’s monitoring and reporting functions. Read more...
|
|
|
IDB:
IDB Lab invests in Talently to promote the training and hiring of technological talent
With We-Fi support, the Inter-American Development Bank’s innovation lab, IDB Lab, invested $750,000 in Talently, a women-led startup dedicated to training and connecting Latin American tech talent with international companies. Read more...
|
|
|
IDB:
IDB Lab is improving access to value chains for women-owned SMEs while promoting innovation in their business models
IDB Lab partnered with Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Global Management and We-Fi for the WE3A initiative to create opportunities for female entrepreneurs in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Read more (in Spanish)...
|
|
|
ADB:
From Survival to Growth: ADB-Supported Women Entrepreneurs Share Their Stories
Women-led businesses in Viet Nam are benefiting from financing support from local banks, thanks to an Asian Development Bank We-Fi program that delivers COVID-19 relief for WSMEs. Read more... |
|
|
From the development community:
Women entrepreneurship news and events
|
|
GEM Launches 2021/2022 Women's Entrepreneurship Report
We-Fi is proud to sponsor the newly launched GEM 2021/2022 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report. The research shows that startup rates for women dropped by 15% from 2019 to 2020, and held constant in 2021.
Report findings are based on a trend analysis of women’s entrepreneurship across 50 countries and shed light on the actions policymakers can take to support female entrepreneurs.
Read the Report | Watch Launch Event |
|
|
Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit
The 2022 Annual Summit was packed with thought-provoking discussions, new know-how, and engaging, interactive sessions. It focused on areas that drive value to Alliance members and their stakeholders and showcased effective solutions from the world of financial services and beyond. The Annual Summit 2022 was hybrid and took place November 2-3 in London and online. Learn more...
|
|
|
FAW 2022 Hackathon announces winner
This year's Financial Alliance for Women Annual Summit Hackathon’s first prize went to TRIBE Fintech for their platform providing financial and business education, community and networking in a white-label format that banks can license. The Hackathon's theme was "Alliance Hack: Designing Gender-Intelligent Fintechs". Learn more...
|
|
|
EIB launches new report on supporting female entrepreneurship in the EU
Three surveys — the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) 2021, the EIBIS Startup and Scaleup Survey 2019 and the EBRD-EIB-World Bank Group Enterprise Survey — show that supporting female-led businesses makes good economic sense, as these companies generate wider economic, social and environmental benefits. Learn more...
|
|
|
Invest2Impact: Supporting African Women Entrepreneurs, A Summary Report
Invest2Impact aimed to support women entrepreneurs in East Africa and to better understand their business growth and financing journeys. Read report...
|
|
|
|
|
