AFAWA Initiative: Working visit of a French government delegation to the Bank

AfDB NEWS & EVENTS

12-Feb-2020

A delegation from the French government, led by Philippe Lacoste, director of sustainable development within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will pay a working visit to Abidjan on February 13 and 14, at the headquarters of the African Development Bank.

The host delegation will also include Clément Roman, from the Directorate General of the French Treasury and Céline Place, Mr. Lacoste's assistant. Several interviews around the AFAWA initiative are planned with Bank officials. These include Jennifer Blanke, vice-president in charge of Agriculture and human and social development, Vanessa Moungar, director of the gender, women and civil society department, Stefan Nalletamby, acting vice-president in charge of the private sector , infrastructure and industrialization and Esther Dassanou, coordinator of the AFAWA initiative and her team.

Announced last August by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at the G7 heads of state and government summit in Biarritz (France), France's contribution to the Initiative to promote access for women funding to Africa (AFAWA) stands at $ 135 million, more than half of the $ 251 million in financial support pledged by G7 states. With this support, France and the contributing countries of the group of seven demonstrate their commitment to the financial inclusion of women in Africa.

France's financial aid is intended for the innovative risk-sharing mechanism of the AFAWA initiative, which aims to free up $ 3 billion in favor of female entrepreneurship in Africa. Beyond the risk-sharing mechanism, the G7's support for the program will make it possible to finance technical assistance to financial institutions and the strengthening of the capacities of women entrepreneurs. In addition, the funds allocated will help mobilize African governments to reform the laws that restrict access to credit and to female entrepreneurship.

"I want to emphasize the importance in my eyes of this initiative ... I know that many expect this: concrete, thought by African women, operated by an African institution with lots of things behind which will be developed as close to the ground and very pragmatically. It is an object that will transform over time, "said President Macron, at the Biarritz summit.

"I am making a financial commitment today, we are giving visibility to this initiative but we will continue to carry it over time, both with rigor to be sure that it meets the needs of the field and that our collective credibility, "he added at a press conference at the summit.

The visit of the government delegation to the Bank's headquarters thus constitutes an asserted desire on the part of the French authorities to make the initiative a real success.