Finance

HSBC launches US$1 billion Female Entrepreneur Fund in 11 countries, including Egypt

HSBC launches US$1 billion Female Entrepreneur Fund  in 11 countries, including Egypt
Wednesday, 18 May 2022 16:34

The fund is launched in addition to HSBC Roar program to help women entrepreneurs address business challenges. For that purpose, it will provide funds and technical support. 

British banking group HSBC recently announced the launch of a US$1 billion fund dedicated exclusively to financing women entrepreneurs in 11 countries around the world. Only one of the beneficiary countries is in Africa, Egypt namely.  

Through the fund, HSBC will provide loans to women-led businesses over the next 12 months. It will also offer technical support including networking sessions, coaching from experienced bankers, and masterclasses led by business leaders. 

The exact volume of the loans to be provided to each company was not disclosed, nor were the repayment terms or the interest rates. 

 "The level of funding received over time by female-led businesses is significantly lower than male counterparts, while the recent impacts of the pandemic have seen these same businesses disproportionately affected. female-owned businesses are also less likely to have global networks, meaning international expansion can prove particularly challenging [... ]As the global economy continues to rebuild from the impact of the pandemic, small and medium-sized businesses will continue to be the bedrock on which our economies and local communities are built, meaning we need to ensure that those led by women are given the support to fulfill their full potential," said Sam Cooper-Gray, Global Head of Market Strategy at HSBC Business Banking. 

The fund launched in addition to HSBC’s Roar programs aimed at helping “address the challenges and bias that female leaders face.” 

In Africa, credit access is one of the major challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. In 2019, only 3% of startup funding and 2% of venture capital went to women entrepreneurs globally. According to a 2019 study by the Boston Consulting Group, closing the gender gap would increase global GDP by US$5 trillion.

Chamberline MOKO

On the same topic
• AfDB chief Sidi Ould Tah met BOAD president Serge Ekué in Abidjan on Aug. 30.• Talks focused on joint efforts to attract private investment for major...
Senelec issued a $215 million bond backed by unpaid bills, marking the first securitization by a public utility in Africa. Half of the...
• Moody’s warns Nigeria’s rate cut to 27% could shrink banks’ net interest margins, raising concerns over profitability in the coming quarters.• Zenith,...
• Finance Ministry says demand topped $9 billion for the Sharia-compliant debt.• The sukuk was split into $700m due 2029 at 6.375%...

Most Read
01

• Côte d’Ivoire signs $156.8M farm deal with Italy’s BF Group• 10,000-hectare project aims to c...

Côte d’Ivoire Signs $156.8 Million Farm Deal With Italy’s BF Group to Cut Food Imports
02

• Safaricom’s M-PESA Fintech 2.0 upgrade lifts capacity to 6,000 transactions per second, scalable t...

Safaricom Unveils Fintech 2.0 Upgrade to Expand M-PESA’s Reach
03

M-KOPA sold 1.3M smartphones in 2025, reaching 6.4M devices sold since 2020. 42% of buyers got th...

M-KOPA Sells 1.3 Million Smartphones in 2025, Contributing to the Expansion of Africa’s Digital Reach
04

Masiyiwa’s Cassava to invest $720m in 5 AI factories, bringing 15k GPUs for Africa’s data sov...

Africa’s Sovereign AI Play: Cassava Technologies and Zimbabwean Strive Masiyiwa $ 720 million Bets
05

The EU pledged €359.4m to build Côte d’Ivoire’s 400-kV Dorsale Est line, boosting capacity an...

Côte d’Ivoire: EU Commits €359.4 Million for Electricity Transmission Line Project
Enter your email to receive our newsletter

Ecofin Agency provides daily coverage of nine key African economic sectors: public management, finance, telecoms, agribusiness, mining, energy, transport, communication, and education.
It also designs and manages specialized media, both online and print, for African institutions and publishers.

SALES & ADVERTISING

regie@agenceecofin.com 
Tél: +41 22 301 96 11 
Mob: +41 78 699 13 72


EDITORIAL
redaction@agenceecofin.com

More information
Team
Publisher

ECOFIN AGENCY

Mediamania Sarl
Rue du Léman, 6
1201 Geneva
Switzerland

 

Ecofin Agency is a sector-focused economic news agency, founded in December 2010. Its web platform was launched in June 2011. ©Mediamania.

 
 

Please publish modules in offcanvas position.