World Bank makes women's entrepreneurship a priority

Abolishing the myriad obstacles preventing African women from becoming entrepreneurs must be a priority on a continent where poverty continues to grow, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday.

"What we do know is that African women are more likely to be entrepreneurs but that they face more obstacles than men to create and run their businesses," he said. she said in an interview with AFP.

Speaking on the eve of the First Summit on Financing Women's Entrepreneurship (We-Fi) in West Africa, the general manager of the Washington-based lender said that a Once women overcame obstacles, they tended to be more successful.

The conference "aims to galvanize public policy reforms and also to encourage the private sector to promote women entrepreneurs in West Africa".

The obstacles are many: women are 9% less likely to own a cell phone than men in Africa and 48% less likely to have internet access.

There are legal obstacles in the region that prevent women from gaining access to certain jobs, cultural barriers, difficulties to take seriously when they have not gone to school and, in particular, hardship. to obtain a bank loan. Without access to funds, it's almost impossible to start a business, Georgieva said.

The daughter and adviser to US President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, also supports this initiative and will attend the conference.

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The Cote d 'Ivoire summit will bring together development bank executives, private sector leaders and women entrepreneurs to discuss how to support the entrepreneurial spirit of African women.

"We are focusing on this offer of help – it is all about removing barriers for women," said Georgieva. "With a little help, they will probably succeed."

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have long argued that data show that integrating women into economies creates jobs, improves living standards, boosts growth and contributes to peace and prosperity. 39, a country.

But fighting poverty remains a challenge in Africa.

In 2015, the share of extreme poverty in the world had fallen from 36% 25 years earlier to 10% worldwide, while in Africa it was 54% to 41%, according to the World Bank.

But in absolute terms, the number of people living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa has nearly doubled to 413 million, due to rapid population growth, said Georgieva.

More than half of the world's poor live in this region, which could reach 87% by 2030. Africa has 26 of the 27 poorest countries in the world.

"It is very urgent to focus where the problem matters most.One of the most important is the share of women in Africa," she said.