Absa bank’s “InspireMe Conference 2024” kicked off on Tuesday, June 18 and will end on June 19, with stakeholders saying the forum would provide both financial and non-financial opportunity to more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs.
Themed “Empowering Your Story for Growth”, the annual conference, which is an initiative under the lender’s women in business proposition launched in 2021, kicked off today, June 18 and will end on June 19, 2024 under the
Women from Absa participating countries, which include Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Mauritius, and Uganda, and others under SheTrades Hubs in Africa – that is, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, The Gambia, and Nigeria – will attend the two-day conference that will focus on connecting, sharing experiences, and developing the tools and knowledge to ensure businesses can grow and scale.
“We are not just empowering women. We are empowering the whole community… but it is also a call to action, as a community, to dismantle the barriers that still stand in the way of women’s entrepreneurial success,” the chief guest and President’s Advisor on Women’s Rights, Ms Harriette Chiggai, said during the opening ceremony.
She noted that at a time when the World Economic Forum estimates that the global workforce will increase by at least 910 million people between 2010 and 2050, of which 830 million will be in Africa, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are best equipped to resolve some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.
“Emphasis should be on women-led SMEs by supporting them to overcome the constraints of accessing finance, as well as market information and networks. I am happy to note that the conference is very much aligned with this objective,” Chiggai said.
According to the World Bank, women-led businesses, which contribute about 30 per cent of Africa’s total GDP compared to 70 per cent from the male counterparts, have been on the rise across Africa with 58 per cent of all African SMEs.
But women continue to lag due to the barrier of access to finance, one of the biggest challenges on the continent that contributes to stagnation and even the collapse of women-owned businesses.
“The conference continues to grow and I think this is a good deal. We are making a big progress,” Absa Bank chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director Abdi Mohamed, said. “Every problem that you encounter is an opportunity and that’s what business is all about… a McKinsey Report states that if women were to fully participate in the economy, $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025, necessitating the need to advance women’s economic empowerment,”
Concurrent with the conference and as part of the Kenya – UK Trade Mission, select women-led businesses from the agrifood, textiles and apparel, handicrafts, and accessories sectors will participate in a series of one-to-one business meetings with potential buyers from the UK delegation and African corporations.
Representatives from participating International Trade Centre SheTrades Hubs, which are resource centres dedicated to women entrepreneurs, will also discuss potential collaboration with the three participating UK delegates from the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chamber International, and West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry – as well as export opportunities available through the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme.
“Absa has made the choice to support businesses that operate at the grassroot level. This is where we generate a lot of impact, but at the same time, it comes with a significant amount of risk because the vast majority of these SMEs do not have collaterals. Through this guarantee, the Africa Guarantee Fund will cover 75 per cent of Absa’s risk exposure to increase lending to the SMEs,” said African Guarantee Fund CEO Jules Ngakam.
Official partners for the conference include Finance in Motion, Africa Guarantee Fund, and APA Insurance. Over the last three years, this conference has united over 8,000 women across Africa, offering them the chance to learn from mission-driven women business leaders in Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya.
