AFAWA Launches Funding Playbook for Women Entrepreneurs

The African Development Bank Group's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) and social impact innovation company, Lionesses of Africa, unveiled a new digital playbook titled Financing Business Growth. The digital publication highlights the successful capitalization, growth and job creation initiatives of women entrepreneurs in Africa.

The new publication features 25 African women entrepreneurs including several directly supported through AFAWA from 17 countries. They have found success in agribusiness, fashion, finance, green energy, healthcare, tech, manufacturing, retail, security and water management businesses.

Financing Business Growth is a booklet on the experiences of African women entrepreneurs on financing business growth. The publication features interviews and case studies on their methods of raising capital and growing their companies. It provides hands-on tools to gain investor trust, enhance business operations, and expand sustainable businesses.

The playbook is a pragmatic tool for women entrepreneurs, financial institutions, policy makers and business support organizations. It gives practical advice based on real-world experience, helping entrepreneurs grasp the characteristics of investors and lenders and setting their business up for success.

Key Highlights

• AFAWA and Lionesses of Africa launched the Financing Business Growth playbook
• The playbook shares funding strategies from 25 women entrepreneurs across 17 African countries
• It aims to improve women's access to finance and support business growth

The resource shows the impact of increased access to finance on women's businesses in Africa. The playbook features the stories of firms that have gone through winning financing paths to ensure the development of their business and demonstrates that financial support is only one element of the puzzle in unlocking growth, with robust business foundations and supportive ecosystems playing a crucial role.

Melanie Hawken, founder of Lionesses of Africa, said: “The Financing Business Growth playbook is founded on a simple belief: some of the most valuable lessons a woman entrepreneur can learn come from another woman who has successfully navigated the journey before her. Drawing on firsthand experience of overcoming challenges and securing funding, this playbook offers practical guidance to help more women entrepreneurs unlock the capital they need to grow and succeed."  

Lionesses of Africa developed the playbook with the support of AFAWA. The publication is aligned with the African Development Bank Group's Four Cardinal Points vision and provides practical lessons to help women entrepreneurs secure finance, build more dynamic enterprises, establish jobs and contribute to more inclusive economic development. It also encourages entrepreneurship and development of the private-sector as the means to realize the potential of Africa's demographic dividend.

“Financing Business Growth embodies the African Development Bank Group's vision for Africa's future. At AFAWA, we know that when women entrepreneurs gain access to finance, they do far more than grow businesses - they create jobs, strengthen communities and drive economic transformation. This playbook highlights what is possible when women entrepreneurs could thrive and provides practical guidance to support more founders following that path,” said AFAWA Coordinator Melissa Basque-Roux.         

This publication builds on the body of gender finance research in Africa, and is designed to bring to the fore the lived experience of women entrepreneurs in various industries in the real world.

Lionesses of Africa are a network of over 1.8 million women entrepreneurs from 54 African countries and the Diaspora in Europe and North America. Digital platforms, business resources, research and entrepreneur support initiatives, are transforming Africa’s female entrepreneurs. The organization collaborated with AFAWA to make sure that the playbook accurately represents the lived experiences of African women entrepreneurs.

AFAWA is a pan-African effort to close the $42 billion financing gap that women entrepreneurs in Africa face. Africa's women in business are supported through financing, technical assistance and policy engagement while financial institutions are supported at the same time to create a more enabling environment for women in business.