Amazing! IFC, ASR Africa Expand She Wins Africa Programme to Support 1,000 Women Entrepreneurs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), has announced a significant expansion of the She Wins Africa programme, scaling its reach from 100 to 1,000 women entrepreneurs across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The announcement was made at the programme’s closing event in Lagos, following strong performance outcomes recorded by the inaugural cohort. Participating women-led startups collectively mobilised over USD 4 million in financing, reinforcing the programme’s growing relevance in addressing access-to-capital challenges faced by women entrepreneurs across the continent.

Over the past year, She Wins Africa supported women-led small and growing businesses across multiple African markets, delivering measurable outcomes in business growth, investment readiness, and investor engagement. The programme combines technical assistance, mentorship, and access to finance to strengthen women-led enterprises at different stages of development.

Speaking at the event, Marieme Niang Camara, IFC’s Senior Operations Officer and Regional Gender Hub Lead for Africa, said the results from the pilot phase demonstrated the case for scale.

“When we started with 100 women entrepreneurs, it was a successful pilot, but for a region like Africa, 100 is just the beginning,” she said. “The impact created—particularly in access to capital and markets—showed this is a programme worth scaling.”

Camara explained that the expanded phase will adopt a segmented support model, targeting startups, growth-stage businesses, and scale-up enterprises. This approach allows for tailored technical assistance, investment-readiness support, and direct access to capital through investment funds and IFC-backed financial institutions.

According to IFC, 17 women-led enterprises successfully accessed external financing, exceeding initial programme targets. In addition, the initiative delivered 123 hours of targeted technical assistance, provided tailored advisory support to 22 startups beyond standard training, facilitated 275 investor connections across regional and international markets, and mobilised 100 mentors across Africa to support participating founders.

On his part, Dr Ubon Udoh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ASR Africa, described She Wins Africa as one of the most impactful entrepreneurship programmes for women on the continent.

“This initiative goes beyond individual countries,” he said. “By scaling from 100 women across 23 countries to 1,000 women across Africa, we are strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems, supporting job creation, and driving broader economic impact.”

Dr Udoh noted that lessons from the first phase are being applied to strengthen delivery in the expanded phase. He also disclosed that the collaboration with IFC has informed a review of ASR Africa’s own mentorship initiatives targeted at young female entrepreneurs across the continent.

A defining feature of She Wins Africa is its hybrid approach, combining capacity-building with structured access to finance. The programme offers business coaching, masterclasses, and investment-readiness training to help founders strengthen operations, refine business models, and improve their ability to attract private capital.

A core pillar of the initiative is the use of catalytic funding to crowd in private investment. Through an initial grant envelope of approximately USD 100,000, the programme mobilised nearly USD 400,000 in follow-on investment, working with regional and local investment partners including Octerra Capital, IMEX, Sahel Capital, Nubia Capital, and Convergence Advisory.

The funding supported critical operational investments such as expanding production capacity, strengthening infrastructure, and hiring additional staff, while reducing investor risk and accelerating business growth.

The inaugural cohort comprised women-led enterprises at varying stages of development, from early-stage startups to more established businesses. This inclusive approach enabled stage-appropriate support and strengthened the pipeline of investment-ready women-led companies, demonstrating the value of tailored interventions in addressing the persistent financing gap faced by women entrepreneurs in Africa.

Editorial Insight

From a broader development perspective, the expansion of She Wins Africa reflects a growing shift from pilot-driven gender initiatives to scale-focused, outcomes-oriented interventions. What distinguishes the programme is not just the volume of capital mobilised, but the intentional design that links capacity-building with real financial pathways. For Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, initiatives like this signal that women-led enterprises are no longer viewed as peripheral beneficiaries of development finance, but as central drivers of inclusive growth, job creation, and market resilience. Scaling such models is critical if the continent is to close its gender financing gap and unlock the full economic potential of its entrepreneurial base.

Looking ahead, the newly announced scale-up represents the first of four projects initially envisioned under the She Wins Africa umbrella. IFC and ASR Africa say future phases will deepen regional reach, strengthen investment pipelines, and prioritise scale-ready ventures, while continuing to support early-stage businesses.

With its expanded footprint, She Wins Africa is positioned to play a more decisive role in building a resilient pipeline of women-led enterprises capable of driving inclusive economic growth and sustainable development across Africa.