By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has announced that the bank would be launching a new initiative to financially support women across the continent.
The initiative is known as Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA).
Adesina announced the program in a press conference last Thursday at State House, whiles wrapping up his visit to Sierra Leone.
“That program (AFAWA) will help de-risk lending by financial institutions in Sierra Leone to businesses of women in the country,” he said.
He added that the program would see women get loans to support their small businesses and pay a lesser rate on interest.
According to a brochure developed specifically for the new initiative, it would not only increase the chances of women getting loans but would also provide technical assistance to financial institutions to design schemes that would support women entrepreneurs. It will also create a favorable business environment for women to thrive in.
The bank’s AFAWA initiative comes at a time when the government had set aside Le100 billion to support Small and Medium Enterprises, of which 70% will be given to women entrepreneurs.
AfDB said that there is a US$42 billion finance gap against women on the continent.
It is not clear yet how much Sierra Leone will benefit from this latest initiative.
Adesina said he had already spoken to the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone who are expected to send some assessment documents to the bank in the coming days.
The bank also announced a US$40 million investment into the construction of the road linking Kailahun Town to Koindu Town.
When completed, the road will connect the Koindu Market, which has been defunct for a while now. The market will also be opened to business people from Liberia.
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