The aim of this report is to document best practices by taking a micro-level deep dive into why women entrepreneurs applying for ‘missing middle’ funding (i.e., in the range of USD 30 000– USD 500 000) more often fail than succeed. This report focuses on the demand and supply issues related to women entrepreneurs access to finance in South Africa and Zambia. The study provides a baseline assessment of a cohort of women who participated in the Graça Machel Trust’s Women Creating Wealth (WCW), a Pan African entrepreneurship development programme whose aim is to grow businesses and transform behaviours, skills and build the confidence of women entrepreneurs.

 

The study further assesses the supply and demand challenges of financial institutions to better understand supply-side issues related to accessing finance for women entrepreneurs in both South Africa and Zambia. The purpose of the study is to strengthen advocacy and better support women entrepreneurs, establish a baseline for women entrepreneurs, identify key recommendations for inclusive business financing practices for women related to the Covid-19 economic response, increase women’s access to finance and financial services, strengthen the skills and capacity of women to access finance and determine the nature of investor readiness who have applied for finance.

 

Read the FULL REPORT HERE. 

 

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