The African Development Bank (AfDB)
Group’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) and Export
Trading Group (ETG) have signed a technical assistance agreement of $1.8
million to strengthen women’s skills in entrepreneurship in four countries.
Leadership from both
organizations took part in a signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the
United Nations climate conference COP 28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The grant for the “Strengthening the Entrepreneurship Skills of Women Owned
& Led Businesses and Women Employees” project will support women Export
Trading Group employees and entrepreneurs, as well as women-led small and
medium enterprises and cooperatives.
The project will be rolled out in
Mozambique, Tanzania. Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
The project aims to impact up to
3,600 women and women-led or owned businesses by placing them in Export Trading
Group’s global supply chain over four years. ETG is a multinational company is
recognized as a fast-growing, vertically integrated agricultural supply chain
group in sub-Saharan Africa, with a presence in 40 countries. AFAWA is a
pan-African initiative helping bridge the $42 billion financing gap Africa’s
women entrepreneurs face, compared to men.
“Integrating women in the Export
Trading Group value chain will go a long way in bridging gender parity by
providing equitable access to climate-resilient [and climate-] smart
agriculture skills, and creating a rural infrastructure that supports all
facets of women’s engagement in agricultural markets. This will significantly
contribute to food security and economic growth in the four countries,” AfDB
Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford, said.
The technical assistance includes
training women employees to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and facilitate
their access to finance and market linkages. Women make up a large proportion
of Africa’s agricultural workforce, from production to consumption. Women also
make 70-80% of purchasing decisions. The grant is financed through the
Bank-managed Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi) that is part of the
AFAWA initiative
"We are proud to partner
with the Bank on the AFAWA project. By empowering women entrepreneurs in
Africa, we can make local economies and communities thrive, which is a core
part of our company strategy. Finding the right partners in this journey is
important, and this collaboration is getting us a step closer to our
goals." Chief Treasury Officer of ETG Mr. Paul Van Spaendok, said.
ETG’s Farmers Foundation will
also take part in the project, providing smallholder farmers with training and
extension services in basic business skills and good agricultural practices.
“The region boasts the largest
number of women entrepreneurs, but their struggles to move beyond subsistence
are still a reality. Harmonising public and private sector efforts is a
necessary move to enable women employees, entrepreneurs and businesses along
agricultural value chains to battle existing constraints and be given a fair
chance to flourish,” Chief Executive Officer at ETG Group Farmers Foundation, Kamini
Menon, said.
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