The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has partnered with the Visa Foundation to unlock new opportunities for women entrepreneurs across Africa through a $2 million grant dedicated to supporting women-led and women-owned SMEs. This strategic collaboration will strengthen the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Guarantee for Growth program, a flagship initiative by the African Development Bank that is addressing the long-standing barriers preventing women entrepreneurs from accessing capital.
Despite representing 58% of Africa’s self-employed population and contributing nearly 20% to the continent’s GDP, women still face a daunting $49 billion financing gap. By offering risk-sharing guarantees to financial institutions and capacity-building support to women-led enterprises, the AFAWA program aims to close this gap and build a more inclusive financial ecosystem that empowers women to scale their businesses.
AGF CEO, Jules Ngankam, emphasized that this initiative extends beyond financial access. Women entrepreneurs are known to reinvest in their families and communities, and supporting them directly contributes to social and economic transformation. By leveraging the Visa Foundation’s grant, AGF will expand its loan guarantee capacity while also equipping its Partner Financial Institutions with the tools needed to increase lending to women-owned enterprises.
Visa Foundation President, Graham Macmillan, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to global financial inclusion and entrepreneurial support. The partnership aligns with its mission to strengthen resilience, create economic opportunities, and empower underserved communities. With AGF already having facilitated nearly $1 billion in loans to over 14,000 women-led businesses through AFAWA, this collaboration is poised to accelerate momentum and attract even more private capital into the ecosystem.
This milestone represents a critical step in bridging the gender financing gap and enabling women entrepreneurs to play an even greater role in Africa’s economic growth. By combining financial innovation, capacity building, and inclusive strategies, AGF and Visa Foundation are laying the groundwork for a stronger, more equitable future where women-owned businesses thrive at the heart of the continent’s development.
