{"id":370,"date":"2023-12-04T08:15:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T08:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/?p=370"},"modified":"2026-03-09T08:22:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:22:55","slug":"breaking-barriers-how-kenya-is-leading-the-charge-in-womens-financial-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/breaking-barriers-how-kenya-is-leading-the-charge-in-womens-financial-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Barriers: How Kenya is Leading the Charge in Women\u2019s Financial Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"

With\u00a0traditional collateral requirements reinforcing gender inequalities<\/strong>, many women-led businesses in Kenya struggle to secure the finances they need to grow.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0AFAWA Finance Series<\/strong>\u00a0landed in\u00a0Nairobi<\/strong>, marking the\u00a06th edition\u00a0<\/strong>of this groundbreaking initiative. Hosted by the\u00a0African Guarantee Fund (AGF), the African Development Bank (AfDB),\u00a0<\/strong>in collaboration with\u00a0Office of the President\u2019s Advisor on Women\u2019s Rights<\/strong>, the three-day event aimed to revolutionize financial access for women entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kenya\u2019s Financial System Needs to Work for Women\u2014From the Start<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Speaking at the event,\u00a0Governor Ann Waiguru, Chair of the Council of Governors in Kenya<\/strong>, delivered a powerful message:<\/p>\n

\u201cFinancial products need to be tailored to women’s unique lived experiences, needs, and aspirations from the start\u2014not later when at scale.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her remarks echoed a growing realization\u2014financial institutions must rethink how they assess women entrepreneurs. Creditworthiness shouldn\u2019t be judged solely on collateral, but on innovative and inclusive financing solutions.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

From Policy to Action: A New Era of Women\u2019s Financial Empowerment<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Series focused on training banks and policymakers on gender-smart investing, equipping them to develop financial products that truly serve women entrepreneurs. The event also introduced AFAWA\u2019s Guarantee for Growth (G4G) program, which de-risks financial institutions lending to women-led SMEs, increasing their appetite for this underserved market.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many women entrepreneurs across Africa are denied opportunities to grow their businesses,\u201d said\u00a0Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, AfDB\u2019s Vice President for Regional Development<\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re here to challenge those misperceptions and show that financing women-led businesses isn\u2019t charity\u2014it\u2019s smart business.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

AFAWA\u2019s Bold Vision: $5 Billion for Women by 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since its launch, AFAWA has already approved USD 1.2 billion in financing across 32 African countries, with a bold goal to mobilize USD 5 billion by 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question we are addressing is how to support women and increase their productivity to fully participate in Africa\u2019s GDP,\u201d said\u00a0Jules Ngankam, Group CEO of AGF<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With Kenya joining the ranks of\u00a0Tanzania, the DRC, Ghana, Angola, and Nigeria<\/strong>\u00a0in hosting the AFAWA Finance Series, the movement to reshape Africa\u2019s financial landscape for women is unstoppable.<\/p>\n

Follow the discussions:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kenya is rewriting the rules of women\u2019s financial inclusion, with the AFAWA Finance Series challenging banks to rethink creditworthiness and unlock billions for women-led businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,47,18,37,21,28,25,26],"class_list":["post-370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-women-and-youth","tag-afawa","tag-capacity-building","tag-events","tag-financial-inclusion","tag-gender-equality","tag-inclusive-growth","tag-sme-financing","tag-women-entrepreneurs","post_format-post-format-video"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":376,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370\/revisions\/376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.oxygenehosting.com\/agf-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}