Business leaders and entrepreneurs engaged in a dynamic discussion about the transformative role of policy in driving innovation and enabling female entrepreneurship across Africa at the Women Creating Wealth (WCW) Summit.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Policy

The summit, an initiative of the Graça Machel Trust, brought together over 200 women entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, donors, and thought leaders from nine countries to reflect on African entrepreneurship, assess progress, and chart a future course.

The plenary session, titled “Bridging the Gap: Policy Solutions for Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Africa”, focused on how intentional policy changes can create a lasting impact on women in business.

Key Discussions and Highlights

Moderated by Caroline Armstrong, Country Lead for Kenya’s New Faces New Voices, the session featured insights from Christine Muyama, Advocacy Officer at the Graça Machel Trust, and HE Sauda Msemo, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania.

• Christine Muyama emphasised the importance of women entrepreneurs actively participating in policy consultations, citing Uganda’s GROW Fund as an example of successful advocacy. Women entrepreneurs influenced a significant redesign of the fund’s terms, making it more inclusive and beneficial to female business owners.

• HE Sauda Msemo shared progress in financial inclusion, reporting a rise to 76% among women, up from just over 60%. Tanzania’s National Gender Strategy was highlighted as a groundbreaking initiative requiring one-third female representation at senior and executive levels in financial institutions.

“Just singing songs about bringing women on board is not enough; we need to take intentional policy decisions,” Msemo remarked, emphasising the need to build a pipeline of women leaders in STEM fields.

Digital Finance as a Catalyst

The session showcased the success of digital finance, with Kenya’s M-Pesa standing out as a transformative tool achieving 83% financial inclusion. This innovation has provided women entrepreneurs with easier access to financial management tools, empowering them to scale their businesses.

Strategies for Policy Influence

Several strategies emerged during the session to drive impactful policy development:

• Active participation in business networks and chambers shaping policy decisions.
• Engagement in data collection processes to inform policy development.
• Advocacy through youth campaigns and online initiatives promoting inclusive policies.
• Providing regular feedback to regulatory bodies on policy challenges and successes.

Building Women Leaders in STEM

Despite progress, challenges remain in building female leadership in STEM. With less than 20% of Africans graduating in STEM-related fields, participants stressed the importance of early intervention at the school level to cultivate a stronger pipeline of women leaders.

A Call to Action

The session concluded with a call for systemic transformation and individual agency. Caroline Armstrong emphasised that while policy change is essential, ongoing innovation and active participation are critical to dismantling barriers to women’s economic advancement.

About the Women Creating Wealth Summit

The Women Creating Wealth (WCW) Summit, hosted by the Graça Machel Trust, serves as a platform for women entrepreneurs and stakeholders to share insights, shape policy, and promote women’s economic empowerment across Africa.

Press Release Submitted By

Company Name: Graça Machel Trust

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Policy Innovation Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in Africa

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