African women entrepreneurs call for support to help them benefit from AfCFTA

More than 200 African women entrepreneurs from 35 countries meeting in Cameroon’s capital have called for more support from lenders and governments to help them benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

During the second meeting for the United Nations-sponsored African Women Entrepreneurs Forum held under the theme, “Female Entrepreneurs, Challenges and Opportunities,” the women said their businesses are mostly small, informal, and suffering discrimination. The African Continental Free Trade Area that started in 2021 brought great hope that a market of 1.2 billion people would boost women-run businesses and reduce poverty. But while Africa’s women entrepreneurs still see opportunities, they also face many challenges, including harassment and discrimination in Africa’s male-dominated trade.

For example, former President of the Central African Republic, Catherine Samba-Panza, said many women are missing out on the opportunities of trade integration because their small businesses have low productivity and get little or no funding from governments and lenders. Therefore, Panza said African governments and funding agencies should realize that a majority of Africa’s 30% of women entrepreneurs need assistance, if only because many female businesses in the CAR, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria had to shut down because of armed conflicts. The United Nations says the female economy is the world’s largest emerging market with the potential to add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025.