The African Union Development Agency says African countries must work with banks to dismantle red tape hindering female entrepreneurs from accessing funding.
The union, which joined G20 member states in 2023, is part of the delegates attending the G20 Global Conference on Financial Inclusion and Women Empowerment held at Sun City outside Rustenburg.
Head of the Youth, Gender and Women Empowerment of AU development agency, Jessica Annor called on banks to remove barriers that hinder women from accessing business funding.
"We need to work with the banks to de-risk women business to make sure we have specific products for women, but we also need to support women collectives. We need to support building women banks, having big financial champions at country level that women do no longer suffer to access finance," says Annor.
Meanwhile, a delegate from UN women, Tshegofatso Diphukwane has emphasized the importance of women in leadership and global knowledge sharing.