18 Jul 2023

Women in business have called for actionable advice on issues of financing models to heighten the power of women’s leadership and entrepreneurship.

This transpired during a panel discussion that reflected on the subject: Women’s leadership in trade and investment during the 15th  US-Africa Business Summit in Tlokweng recently.

Discussing a plethora of challenges faced by women in business particularly barriers that disadvantage women to access loans from financial institutions, the panelists agreed that women in businesses should be empowered with financial literacy to unlock their full potential in entrepreneurship.

Among the panelists were Lorato-Boakgomo Ntakhwana and Ms Boitumelo Ntsosa who currently run their businesses. 

They highlighted the transformative impact of women’s leadership in driving trade and investment. 

Ms Boakgomo–Ntakhwana, the Managing Director of Gravitas called for policy measures and interventions that promote gender equality and women’s leadership since they were critical to Africa’s economic growth.

“Closing the financing gap was crucial, especially for emerging economies such as those in Africa, she said and emphasised that it was crucial to come up with solutions to assist women to understand the power of credit track record which unlocks the capital financing solutions. According to the African Development Bank, the funding gap between women and men entrepreneurs in Africa now stood at US$42 billion.

She was of the view that while many women performed well in small businesses, the fact that most do not bank their money disadvantaged them from accessing meaningful loans that could grow their businesses.

In that regard, she said it was advisable to hold conversations that empower them about the power of mobile banking and transactions that saves them from physical banking.

She said digital financial solutions should be used to bridge the gap as they have so far proved to be safer spaces for transactions in small business settings.

“We need to start being intentional about this and use these mobile apps track records as evidence for banking and access to finance. In this way, access to finance will be bridged,” she said.

For her part, Destiny Creek Managing Director, Ms Ntsosa also concurred that mobile money transactions had become handy for most small businesses as this had allowed women entrepreneurs to expand their business and save them from the hustle of physical banking.

“This has proved more profitable because physical transactions lead to unaccountable spending on small household items,” she said.

She reasoned that most women entrepreneurs spend a greater share of their income on household well-being than male entrepreneurs, hence in some instances it was difficult for them to demonstrate their cash flow to potential funders or financial institutions.

During her opening remarks, the US Trade and Development Agency Director, Ms Enoh Ebong said America was committed to supporting the development of suitable infrastructure in emerging economies with US industries.

She emphasised the women-driven ecosystem that supports infrastructure projects that were women-led in order to break the barriers in the business space and to empower women at local level.

Ms Ebong further said America continued to fund infrastructure projects that addressed access to capital for women entrepreneurs in order to address the financial challenges that affect their growth.The plenary explored challenges, opportunities, and best practices in promoting and enhancing women’s role in intra-African trade with global partners such as the US. Ends