Africa's biggest bank by assets, Standard Bank has announced that it will invest 10 million to the African Women Impact Fund AWIF in support of women fund managers with businesses in Africa. The announcement was made at the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group EWWG Women to Africa event hosted in partnership with Standard Bank and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities DWYPD at the Inanda Club in Sandton.
"We are proud to be at the forefront of this initiative," said Luvuyo Masinda, Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank during the announcement speech at the event. "Our focus is on driving sustainable growth across Africa by mobilising capital for women-owned businesses. By strengthening the role of women as fund managers and decision makers, we are helping expand access to finance, unlock opportunities and drive growth.," said Masinda.
The AWIF is a Pan-African gender-lens initiative of the UN Economic Commission of Africa "ECA", UN Women, the African Union Commission "AUC", under the stewardship of the African Women Leadership Network "AWLN". In operationalising the program, AWLN has collaborated with the Standard Bank Group as the lead sponsor and promoter, RisCura Invest as the investment manager and provider of fund manager incubation services, and MiDA Advisors as the strategic advisor.