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We hosted a remarkable evening in Washington, D.C., featuring Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, the newly appointed Senior Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The event was part of our ongoing Funding the Gap Roundtable Series, which is dedicated to addressing the $42 billion financing gap faced by African women entrepreneurs and advancing gender-lens financing across the continent. The event brought together a dynamic mix of female entrepreneurs, investors, and global leaders committed to creating equitable access to funding and fostering collaboration between Africa and the global financial community.
Held on the sidelines of the World Bank Fall Meetings, this event marked another milestone in our mission to amplify the voices of African women entrepreneurs, facilitate access to capital, and create a more inclusive financial landscape. As we build on the momentum from Washington, D.C., and our previous event in New York, we remain committed to driving impactful conversations and actionable solutions for women entrepreneurs across Africa and the diaspora.

Following timbuktoo Africa’s announcement of a goal to invest $1 billion to transform the continents innovation ecosystem, we hosted a high-level dinner in honor of His Excellency Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Guardian of the timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation and former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the margins of the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas Texas, May 2024.

On September 24, 2024 and on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, we launched the African Business Stories Roundtable series under the theme – Funding the Gap – Strategies to accelerate the growth of African Female Entrepreneurs. This was the first of a series of conversations which will be held in the US and across the continent.

Despite the potential and innovation demonstrated by female entrepreneurs, they continue to face barriers in securing capital and accessing financial services. According to the African Development Bank, women-owned businesses in Africa face a $42 billion financing gap and the IFC has reported that only 2% of venture capital funding goes to female-led startups in Africa. Female entrepreneurs in Africa, with limited access to financial services are more likely to rely on personal savings and informal sources of funding, limiting their ability to grow and scale their businesses. Research by the World Bank has shown that closing the gender gap in access to finance could increase GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa by $316 billion.

The series will bring together investors, payment companies, female entrepreneurs and other stakeholders, and provide a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration to drive positive change and accelerate the growth of female-led businesses in Africa. Our goal is to create a more inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers African women and contributes to economic growth across the continent.