UK offers £30 m aid to support female entrepreneurs in Africa

25 / 08 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

The UK announced on Sunday a £30 million aid to support up to 10,000 budding female entrepreneurs with essential training and mentoring to help them better manage their businesses, including marketing, financial and business planning.

The announced will lead to starting partnerships with up to 30 banks across Africa, helping to bring down the cost and incentivize lending to thousands of women.

It will also transform women’s job opportunities and boost African economies to help countries become UK’s trading partners and build their future beyond aid.

Research shows that women typically reinvest up to 90 percent of their income in the education, health and nutrition of their family and community, compared to 40 percent for men. This means that investing in female-led businesses can transform societies as well as women’s lives.

An equal role for women in the economy is essential to sustained growth and will help lift millions out of poverty. Experts estimate that advancing economic equality globally could add $12 trillion (or 11 percent) to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Despite having the highest concentration of female entrepreneurs in the world, women in a number of African countries face greater barriers to starting their own businesses than their male peers. This is because women often find it harder to access further education, get business loans, sign contracts and own property based on their gender.

International Development Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Every woman deserves the same opportunities as her male peers to start and build a business. But this is not just about equal opportunities. By breaking down barriers and unleashing the potential of women across Africa, UK aid is supporting the private sector to thrive, helping nations across the continent to increase economic growth and shape their own future beyond aid.”

“By investing in the economic empowerment of African women, we are investing in ending poverty, and in developing Britain’s trading partners of the future,” he added.

The UK aims to be the biggest G7 investor in Africa by 2022. Today’s announcement builds on the UK’s existing partnerships with African nations to create mutual trade and investment opportunities, ahead of the UK-Africa Investment Summit which is due to take place in London next year.