Market Update: Empowering Women to Strengthen Africa’s Economy – Full Analysis

For women-led enterprises, ATIDI’s solutions are vital enablers of scale.

The Portfolio Risk Sharing Agreement (PoRSA), implemented with KfW Development Bank, allows ATIDI to share risk with financial institutions, in turn allowing those to expand lending to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). By reducing capital constraints and provisioning pressures on banks, PoRSA crowds in private-sector lending and enhances credit allocation toward productive enterprises, particularly those historically underserved.

Similarly, the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF), supported by KfW Development Bank and Norad, addresses payment delays from public offtakers in renewable energy and infrastructure projects. By mitigating liquidity risk, RLSF strengthens the credit profile of projects critical to energy access, climate resilience and industrial development. Reliable infrastructure financing is foundational to inclusive growth.

ATIDI’s work also complements continental integration efforts under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Collaborating with partners including KfW and ZEP Re, we are supporting the COMESA Regional Customs Transit Guarantee (RCTG) Scheme, which reduces transaction costs, minimizes border delays and enhances predictability in regional commerce.

Such improvements are bound to benefit women-led businesses and allow them to play an even greater role in Africa’s economic emergence.

On this International Women’s Day, ATIDI reaffirms its commitment to giving confidence, capital and opportunity to thriving women in trade and business and so gain a more inclusive and prosperous Africa. When risk is calibrated correctly, capital flows efficiently. And when capital flows inclusively, development accelerates for all. When women thrive, markets expand, economies stabilize and nations prosper.

Empowering women in trade and investment is not just the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do.