The Summit of the seven most industrialized countries of the world abbreviated "G7" held in Biarritz comes
to announce good news for women entrepreneurs in Africa. G7 Leaders, Chaired
by French President Macron, pledged to support the AFAWA (AFFIRMATIVE FINANCE
initiative ACTION FOR WOMEN IN AFRICA) with more than $200 million.
AFAWA is a joint initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African
Guarantee Fund (AGF). It is defined as a risk reducing the risks associated with loans to women entrepreneurs through guarantees
partial provisions offered by AGF to financial institutions and its capacity building program in
the aim of better preparing them for easier access to finance.

AFAWA takes a comprehensive approach based on improving access to finance for >br< women-owned and run businesses; capacity building for women entrepreneurs
and financial institutions; and the mobilization and even support of African governments in the implementation
implements the legal, policy and regulatory reforms necessary for the development of
women's entrepreneurship.
Referring to the AFAWA initiative at the press conference, President Macron said: "As a
As the current G7 President, I am particularly proud that the agenda we are supporting today
the AFAWA initiative, emanates from an African organization, the African Development Bank, which
works with the African Guarantee Fund and a network of African banks."
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina praised AGF's outstanding rating (AA-) and its extensive network
African financial institutions as a key pillar of AFAWA's success. He pointed out that this
The initiative will go a long way towards reducing the USD 42 billion funding gap between br men and women on the continent.
Felix Bikpo, CEO of AGF Group, congratulated the AfDB for its initiative and the G7 leaders for having
recognized the importance of women as a pillar of the continent's growth.
Mr Bikpo said: "AGF's strategy sees women as a key pillar of growth
in Africa and has always been committed to increasing their access to finance. In fact,
30% of the SMEs supported by AGF are owned or led by women. Thanks to the AFAWA initiative,
our role in financing women will be strengthened to enable an increasing number of
women to fully play their role as engines of economic growth through the SMEs they own or direct".
The official launch of AFAWA will take place in the coming months. From there more information related to
said program will be available.
About the African Guarantee Fund
The African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (AGF) is a financial institution
pan-African, non-bank rated AA- by Fitch.
AGF contributes to the promotion of economic development in Africa through two areas of intervention: Provision of partial guarantees to financial institutions to facilitate access to finance for
small and medium-sized enterprises. AGF offers three types of guarantees: loan guarantees, guarantees
resource mobilization and capital guarantees.
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Strengthening the capacity of partner financial institutions to improve their capacity to
properly assess the risks of SMEs and small and medium-sized enterprises and strengthen their capacity
for easier access to finance.
The African Guarantee Fund was established by the Government of Denmark through the Agency
Danish International Development (DANIDA), the Government of Spain through
the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the African Bank of
development (AfDB). Other shareholders include the French Development Agency (AFD), the
Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU)
and KfW Development Bank (KfW).