ShEquity Receives a $1.2 Million Grant From USAID Trade Hub
The USAID Trade Hub has co-invested $1.2 million in ShEquity to invest in and support over 100 high-potential women-owned or led businesses.
According to Pauline Koelbl, Founder and Managing Director of ShEquity, women entrepreneurs are vital to Africa’s success because they control more than 40% of the continent’s small and medium-sized businesses.
In comparison to their male counterparts, African women entrepreneurs face a $42 billion funding shortfall, making it harder for them to jointly grow their firms.
“If Africa is to reach its full economic potential, smart investment for African women entrepreneurs must be considerably increased,” Koelbl believes. “A lack of cash, along with a lack of business support, puts aspiring female entrepreneurs and those seeking to expand their already successful businesses in a growth deficit or low-income trap, widening the gender gap and reinforcing negative stereotypes.”
ShEquity will use its $1.2 million co-investment award to attract at least $15 million in private financing in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, which will be used to invest in, scale, and accelerate women-led and -owned businesses. The six core industries addressed are agribusiness, healthcare, tech-enabled solutions, renewable energy, mobility, and fast-moving consumer goods.
As part of the USAID Trade Hub project, ShEquity will give business development and technical support to 120 women-owned or led enterprises in the target markets, as well as select 12 high-growth, high-impact businesses that will each receive at least $50,000 in venture capital funding.
Through 2024, it is expected that the aggregate investments in the 12 selected enterprises will create at least 200 jobs and have an economic impact on about 20,000 people, either directly or indirectly, across their respective value chains.
