Standard Bank allocates $10m towards the African Women Impact Fund
AWIF is a scalable and sustainable platform that empowers women as fund managers.
By Standard Bank
Africa’s biggest bank by assets, Standard Bank has announced that it will invest $10 million in the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF) in support of women fund managers in Africa.
“We are proud to be at the forefront of this initiative,” said Luvuyo Masinda, Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank. “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, UN Women, the African Union Commission, under the stewardship of the African Women Leadership Network (AWLN). In operationalising the programme, 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.
According to the IFC report, Gender and Investing: Women Fund Managers and Capital Allocation Trends, female fund investment managers are two times more likely to invest in women-led businesses which can create a ripple effect and accelerate the financial inclusion of women. AWIF is a scalable and sustainable platform that empowers women as fund managers and creates opportunities for investing into women-owned or women-led enterprises through market-based approaches.
This AWIF’s approach and strategy allows for the private sector to play a stronger role in achieving inclusive and sustainable growth in developing countries. “This is the reason we must be intentional about gender-focused investing and ensure that women are well represented in decision-making roles within the investment management industry,” said Lindeka Dzedze Standard Bank’s Executive Head of Strategic Partnerships Global Markets & Chair of the AWIF.