Women's Entrepreneurship Finance

SME Finance Forum member, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) approved approximately $895 million in financing and political risk insurance that will benefit Africa, Asia and Latin America in energy, healthcare, housing and financial services, according to a release by OPIC.

The funds will contribute to the following OPIC initiatives: 2X Women’s Initiative, the Connect Africa Initiative, the Northern Triangle Initiative and the Indo-Pacific Initiative.

The Future of Business Survey in collaboration with Member World Bank, Facebook and OECD provides monthly data on the economic environment for SMEs around the world. Key findings in the publication included:

Bank of America launched their third annual study, focused on the goals and challenges of women entrepreneurs across the country. 
The publication examines: rising business and economic confidence, leading the digital transformation and progress towards equal access to capital. 

Key points highlighted in the publication included:

Women in the Western Cape are dominating the SME industry. According to the article, “women-owned businesses experienced 50 percent more growth than businesses owned by men in the Western Cape.” This boost can be contributed to women making smarter investment decisions, according to a survey conducted by Retail Capital. Key points revealed in the survey regarding women entrepreneurs were: 

This report is based on information gathered in the GBA’s Women’s Market Analytics Survey — the only collection of global banking data measuring the performance of financial institutions serving the Women’s Market, with four years of performance data and over 400 data points per institution. This second edition of the report bears out several trends that emerged in the previous edition, highlighting the strong business opportunity the Women's Market represents.

By ramping up their lending to female entrepreneurs, banks in Tunisia could dramatically increase their profits while also driving economic growth across the country, says a new report from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

According to Boston Consulting Group research, when women business owners pitch their ideas to investors for early-stage capital, they receive significantly less funding — a disparity that averages more than $1 million— than men. Yet businesses founded by women ultimately deliver higher revenue—more than twice as much per dollar invested—than those founded by men, making women-owned companies better investments for financial backers.

SME Finance Forum BRAC Bank has celebrated the first anniversary of the launch of its comprehensive Women’s Banking solutions ‘TARA’.

Selim RF Hussain, Managing Director and CEO, BRAC Bank, and senior officials were present at the programme to mark the occasion at the bank’s head office on May 8. BRAC Bank is the first bank to launch a women banking proposition with a 360 degree approach to appreciate the contribution of women of the country.