Mauritania: African Development Bank and BCI Group Sign US$ 485,000 AFAWA Technical Assistance Agreement to Promote Financial Inclusion of African Women's Enterprises

The African Development Bank and the Bank for Trade and Industry (BCI) of Mauritania have signed a $485,000 technical assistance agreement for the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program which aims at promoting women's access to finance in Africa.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed El Azizi, African Development Bank Director General for North Africa and Isselmou Tajidine, Managing Director of BCI’s Trade and Industry Group, on the sidelines of the Mauritania Investment Forum. The forum, titled, Invest Days-Nouakchott, was organized by the Mauritania Investment Promotion Agency.

The Promoting Access of Women-Owned Enterprises to Financial and Technical Support Services in the Western Sahel Region project is financed by the African Development Bank with funding support from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). The project  aims to strengthen BCI’s financing capacity for trade and industry and to better support women small and medium enterprises in Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Guinea.

"The signing of this technical assistance agreement with the BCI Group is an important step in supporting the financial inclusion and growth of women-led SMEs, which play a crucial role in Mauritania's economic development," said Mohamed El Azizi.The agreement consolidates a €10 million line of credit approved by the Bank’s board of directors in 2021 by the African Development Bank to the Bank for Trade and Industry to support the growth and trade of strategic small businesses, including women entrepreneurs...Read more on AfDB

Source: AfDB