The African Development Bank has approved a $14.96m grant for a project to enable women in Sudan access finance and grow their businesses.
The project, ‘Accelerating Women’s Entrepreneurship and Access to Finance,’ will address capacity, financing, and knowledge gaps for Sudan’s women entrepreneurs.
In a statement on Tuesday, AfDB stated that the project aimed to help women to access quality business development services and financing as well as improving the quality of services provided by financial institutions serving women entrepreneurs in Sudan’s Khartoum and Red Sea states.
“This approval shows that the African Development Bank stands with the government and people of Sudan to enable women to play more major roles in the development of their country,” said AfDB’s Country Manager for Sudan, Raubil Durowoju.
The development bank explained that under the project, 570 micro, small and medium enterprises owned or led by women are expected to receive high quality technical and business development training and a finance pot of up to $11m.
It said the financing is also expected to lead to an average 10 per cent growth in business revenue for the women business owners and the creation of 1,200 full-time equivalent jobs, especially for young women.
It further stated it would strengthen the capacity of financial and microfinance institutions that serve women entrepreneurs by establishing ‘internal one-stop shops” for women-tailored operations and ensuring that the institutions provide gender-responsive financing geared to the needs of female entrepreneurs.
The AfDB added that the AWEAF project included enhancing the rights of women and ensuring they are empowered economically, a development that is also expected to enhance the country’s peace and stability.
