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Affirmative Finance Action
for the Women of Africa (AFAWA)

African Development Bank

Affirmative Finance Action
for the Women of Africa (AFAWA)

African Development Bank

Affirmative Finance Action for the Women of Africa (AFAWA) is a pan-African initiative created to bridge the $42 billion financing gap facing women in Africa.

AFAWA leverages the African Development Bank’s financial instruments to increase lending to women. It provides advisory services to ensure successful implementation of product portfolios for women, and provides technical training to women entrepreneurs to enhance their businesses. AFAWA also engages with African governments to support legal, policy and regulatory reforms to reduce barriers to women in finance.

Project Details

AFAWA adopts a holistic approach, focusing on three key pillars:

  • Finance
  • Technical Assistance
  • Creating an appropriate enabling environment

The Group of Seven (G7) countries, the Netherlands and Sweden support AFAWA. Together, these countries have committed $450 million towards the AFAWA Guarantee for Growth program, a de-risking mechanism facilitating women’s access to loans with lower collateral requirements. The Women Entrepreneurship Finance Initiative (WeFi) also supports AFAWA.