Supporting Women Entrepreneurs to close the finance chasm

Women are bearing the brunt of poverty. Yet for those trying to break away from these societal failings, those who want to build their businesses, their legacies, the financing “gap” for women remains less of a gap and more of a chasm.

The World Economic Forum reported last year that the finance gap for women globally is $1.7 trillion dollars, despite the fact that women are a vital part of the micro, small, and medium enterprise landscape. Recent research has shown that Africa is rich with women entrepreneurs, the continent having the highest proportion of these economic heroes across the world. More than a quarter of businesses are run by, or owned by, women. However, despite this, it is women who are often overlooked – and underserved – when it comes to funding.

As the World Economic Forum has repeatedly recommended, banks must reduce the requirements for collateral and loan co-guarantors to start removing some of the barriers that are limiting women-run businesses. This was a core tenet in the establishment of unique value propositions across the bank that aim to foster inclusive financing. We knew that in order to achieve that, we had to approach it differently and that birthed bespoke solutions such as Absa She Thrives. Absa She Thrives is focused on ease of access to funding and protecting the legacy of the entrepreneur. As Absa, we aim to be the bank of the entrepreneur that understands the needs of women and young people in business. She Thrives offers an account to women that waives monthly fees for the first 6 months, provides discounts on short-term insurance, as well as waives initiation fees on an Absa business overdraft. We can’t simply provide funding, your story matters, so to ensure the long-term success of these entrepreneurial mavens we also have a strong non-financial support offering where we have partnered with African Development Bank to help deliver impactful seminars and targeted training programs.

We have also​, through key strategic partnerships, been able to present interventions such as the Visa She’s Next program in partnership with Visa in South Africa. The  program is aimed to develop women owned and run businesses with three key objectives which are: (1) enabling a Network of peers and industry leaders ,(2) Growth through a specially curated development programme, and (3) Access to finance and markets. The program, which is in its first year of delivery in South Africa, is poised to provide increased visibility, mentorship, and financial support to women entrepreneurs, contributing to positive social and economic development in South Africa.

Due to our African heartbeat, we also had to think Pan-African about how we provide our services. In Botswana, for example, women have limited access to finance, with only 10% able to secure loans that could help to grow their businesses, according to the government’s Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA). We now have the Absa SHE Business account in Botswana which has various value-added features. We partner with women to provide financial and non-financial products and services. Unlocking access to affordable financing, local & international markets, business development skills including coaching & mentorship and access to business-based information to empower and support women across the continent.

It is this kind of reach, and this desire to transform the lives of women, that I hope will be our legacy. While we cement our purpose, we also want to help craft the stories of the women changing Africa’s economic landscape. Because their stories matter.