The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has selected 100 women-led startup owners to participate in the She Wins Africa program, an initiative aimed at accelerating access to capital for women-led startups across sub-Saharan Africa.
Participants will receive comprehensive interventions to strengthen their companies’ investment readiness, including advice, mentorship, and access to potential investors, industry leaders, and peers through matchmaking and pitching opportunities.
This initiative is part of IFC’s commitment to promoting gender equality and empowering women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
The 100 participants were chosen from nearly 3,000 applicants across Africa, representing sectors like ag-tech, climate-tech, e-commerce, ed-tech, health-tech, and intech.
Despite having the highest rate of female entrepreneurs globally, women founders in Africa receive only about three percent of start-up finance, according to a 2021 World Bank report. She Wins Africa aims to address this gap by providing investment-readiness programs and rolling out additional initiatives to support women-led startups.
Mrs. Nathalie Akon Gabala, Director of Gender and Economic Inclusion at IFC, emphasized the importance of empowering women entrepreneurs, stating, “It’s time for investors to step up and fund women. A strong entrepreneurship ecosystem benefits us all.”
She Wins Africa follows the success of IFC’s She Wins Arabia program, which has supported women entrepreneurs and Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) in North Africa and the Middle East since 2021.
