Women's entrepreneurship in Africa and the fight against global warming will be at the heart of the debates
at the G7 Summit organized from August 24 to 26 in Biarritz (France), with the participation of the President of the
African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, said AfDB on its website.
After taking part last Sunday in a session devoted to the partnership between the G7 and Africa,
Adesina will present the AFAWA initiative to the press.
The initiative to promote women's access to financing in Africa, known as "AFAWA" according to the acronym
English "Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa", was launched in May 2016 during the Assemblies
African Development Bank Annual Meetings held in Lusaka, Zambia.
This is a pan-African initiative with the dual objective of bridging the funding gap, including
suffer women in Africa, and to release their capacity to undertake.
The presentation of this initiative is part of a Summit centered around the reduction of
inequalities, marked by a renewed partnership with Africa, which emphasizes job creation
sustainability and support for entrepreneurship, especially women.
"Investing in women's entrepreneurship is not only a good idea, it also makes economic sense
“, maintains the president of the African Development Bank.
AFAWA adopts a holistic approach based on three pillars: strengthening access to finance for
businesses owned and led by women, building the capacity of women entrepreneurs and
financial institutions, mobilize and support African governments to adopt the reforms
legal, policy and regulatory requirements for the development of women's entrepreneurship.
Akinwumi Adesina is also due to participate in a G7 session on Monday devoted to climate, biodiversity
and the oceans in the fight against global warming.
Eight non-G7 countries, including five Africans, are invited to the Summit. These are South Africa,
Australia, Burkina Faso, Chile, Egypt, India, Senegal and Rwanda.
The G7 Summit, or group of seven, brings together, each year, the Heads of State and Government of
Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the
Presidents of the European Commission and Council.
In 1997, the group was extended to Russia to become the G8. But from the annexation of Crimea to the
Russia in 2014, G7 member countries and the European Union suspended Russia from the group.