The programme targets limited access to finance, digital services and business development support. Africa has the world’s highest female entrepreneurship rate, but women entrepreneurs face an estimated $49 billion financing gap.
Support comes from the AfDB’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative.
AXIAN’s Mixx and MVola digital financial services platforms will provide digital lending, financial literacy training, business development services and digital inclusion initiatives.
The first component will offer tailored digital financial products and services to 34 000 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Madagascar, Tanzania and Senegal.
The second component will provide financial literacy, digital skills and entrepreneurship training to 25 000 women in Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo and Comoros.
Mobile money services, digital lending solutions and alternative credit assessments will help reach entrepreneurs traditionally excluded from conventional financial systems.
AXIAN Digibank and Fintech Chief Executive Officer Erwan Gelebart said access to capital, digital tools and growth opportunities remained the main challenge. “Across Africa, millions of women are already running successful businesses. The challenge is not entrepreneurship. It is access to finance, to digital tools and to opportunities for growth,” Gelebart said.
Gelebart said Mixx and MVola would use technology and financial innovation to support stronger businesses, employment creation and participation in Africa’s digital economy.
AFAWA Coordinator Melissa Basque-Roux said women entrepreneurs remained central to Africa’s economic transformation but continued facing financial and digital barriers. “The partnership will expand tailored digital financial services, strengthen financial literacy and unlock new opportunities for women-led businesses across the continent,” Basque-Roux said.
Mixx and MVola will lead implementation with local operating companies in participating countries.
The initiative follows AfDB’s approval of a $160 million senior corporate loan for AXIAN Telecom in January 2025. The financing supports digital connectivity and financial inclusion across nine African countries, including dedicated assistance for 22 000 women entrepreneurs in Madagascar.
The new programme will also help women-owned businesses enter the formal economy, access markets and create employment.
–AfDB/ChannelAfrica–
