Letshego Nigeria has won the prestigious 2023 Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Award at the just-ended African Banker Awards. The awards were held in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt on 24th May 2023.
Letshego was feted for allocating at least 63% of its loans to women-led SMEs in just one year.
The award is a joint initiative of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Guarantee Fund, that acknowledges and encourages initiatives aimed at propelling financial inclusivity for “Women across the African continent”. The AfDB’s AFAWA is a Pan-African initiative to bridge the $ 42 billion financing gap facing women in Africa.
AFAWA offers a multi-pronged approach to address the constraints women entrepreneurs face in Africa. To date, the Bank has approved more than $804 million for lending to 3,500 women entrepreneurs across 23 African countries.
The African Banker Awards are a landmark annual event for African Banking that celebrates excellence and best practices in African banking recognising the personalities and banks that are driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial sector. They celebrate the achievements of those who are driving growth, development and creating new economic opportunities for citizens and communities all over the continent and inspire new generations of bankers who are shaping Africa’s future.
This year’s Awards were focused on accentuating gender equity in the financial services industry.