ShEquity has received a $1.2 million co-investment from the USAID Trade Hub to finance and endorse more than 100 high-potential women-owned or led businesses.
According to Pauline Koelbl, Founder and Managing Director of ShEquity, women entrepreneurs are critical to Africa’s prosperity because they run more than 40% of the continent’s small and medium-sized businesses.
Call For Support For African Female Entrepreneurs
African women entrepreneurs, on the other hand, face a $42 billion funding gap when compared to their male counterparts, making it difficult for them to build their businesses collectively.
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“Smart investment for African female entrepreneurs must be greatly increased if Africa is to realize its full economic potential,” Koelbl contends. “A lack of capital and business support traps potential female entrepreneurs and those who want to grow their already successful businesses in a growth deficit or low-income trap, which widens the gender gap and reinforces negative stereotypes.”
What ShEquity Plan To Do With The New Funding
ShEquity plans to use its $1.2 million co-investment grant to raise at least $15 million in private capital to invest in, scale, and accelerate women-led and -owned businesses in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. Agriculture, healthcare, technology-enabled solutions, renewable energy, mobility, and fast-moving consumer goods are some of the six core industries that are looked at.
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As part of the USAID Trade Hub project, ShEquity will provide business development services and technical support to 120 women-owned or led businesses in the target markets. They will also choose 12 high-growth, high-impact companies to get at least $50,000 in venture capital funding.
By 2024, it is expected that the combined investments in the 12 chosen businesses will create at least 200 jobs and have a direct or indirect economic effect on about 20,000 people along the value chains of each company.