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Mastercard Foundation launches $200 million fund to support female-centric African SMEs

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The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF), has announced the launching of a $200 million funding initiative for female-centric Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

The MFAGF, in a statement on Thursday, said the funding scheme will work through African investment vehicles to support early-stage, growth-oriented SMEs on the continent, and beside providing capital for investment vehicles, “The Fund of Funds” will offer a business development facility for its portfolio companies.

The initiative, it said, will use gender lens investing principles to help advance the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which aims to enable 30 million young people in Africa, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.

“The program has so far identified two investment vehicles, one in East Africa and another in West Africa to help in supporting entrepreneurial growth,” the MFAGF said.

“The Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund’s goal is to provide dignified and fulfilling work for young people, particularly young women.

“The Fund of Funds is catalytic, helping to bring in additional capital for African entrepreneurs, particularly female entrepreneurs. It strengthens and de-risks African investment funds committed to advancing gender equity in entrepreneurship.

“Mastercard has a vision of enabling 30 million young people in Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. Eligible enterprises are those owned and led by African entrepreneurs and located on the African continent are often considered high-risk,” it added.

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ADB signs $15m transaction guarantee facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank

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The African Development Bank (ADB) has signed a $15 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Facility with Zimbabwe’s NMB Bank aimed at unlocking trade finance opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as agri-business and trade distribution value chains in the country.

At the signing ceremony held at the NMB Bank Headquarters in Harare, ADB Country Manager for Zimbabwe, Moono Mupotola, signed on behalf of the Bank while NMB Bank Chief Executive Officer, Gerald Gore, signed on behalf of the bank.

Speaking shortly after the brief ceremony, Mupotola said the African Development Bank’s board had earlier approved the project in November 2023, with the facility offering up to 100% coverage to confirming banks, effectively mitigating non-payment risks linked to NMB Bank’s trade transactions on a per-transaction basis.

“It is tailored to support trade between Zimbabwe and other African countries and with overseas markets by significantly diminishing the risk for international financial institutions actively engaging in trade finance activities with Zimbabwean businesses,” Mupotola said.

“The African Development Bank is committed to supporting the development of the private sector in Zimbabwe. This is a significant step forward in supporting the growth and competitiveness of Zimbabwean businesses.

“By mitigating risk and facilitating access to trade finance, we are empowering SMEs and local corporates to participate more actively in regional and international trade,” she said.

Also speaking, Gore emphasized the agreement’s importance for Zimbabwe’s economic development.

“This facility will be instrumental in enabling NMB to provide crucial trade finance support to a wider range of Zimbabwean businesses. This will not only unlock new trade opportunities but also contribute to job creation and economic growth.

“SMEs often face challenges in accessing trade finance compared to their larger counterparts. This initiative directly addresses this gap, fostering a more vibrant and inclusive business environment in Zimbabwe,” Gore said.

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Ghana’s communications regulator predicts subsea cable repairs could take five weeks

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According to Ghana’s communications regulator, it will likely take at least five weeks to fully restore service relying on the damaged subsea cables causing internet outages throughout West and Central Africa.

Many businesses that are connected to the internet and telecommunications, such as banks, phone companies, money transfer services, and stock exchange markets, have been severely disrupted as a result of the cable break.

Equinix, a data centre operator, reported on Friday that a “external incident” caused a cut to its cable system in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of West Africa, near Cote D’Ivoire. It excluded human activity as the reason.

 

The four subsea cable landing service providers—Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, which is owned by data centre operator Equinix (EQIX.O), opens new tab, South Atlantic 3 (SAT-3) and the West Africa Cable System (WACS)—as well as mobile network operators were present at the meeting, according to Ghana’s National Communications Authority.

“The cable landing service providers have indicated an estimated time frame of a minimum of five weeks for full service restoration from the time the vessels are dispatched to the various locations,” the regulator said.

It stated that the service providers had determined the general location of the damage and were getting ready to send out repair ships.

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