Monrovia, Liberia – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has praised women’s contributions to regional integration in Africa on International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025.
In a video message to commemorate the Day, Dr. Joy Kategekwa, Director of the Regional Integration Coordination Office of the African Development Bank Group, stated that “today we stand tall – proud of progress made but aware much more needed to be done.” She also stated that regional integration would not be possible without increasing support for women in trade in Africa.
“Women come to the cross-border trade marketplace with a unique set, they face a unique set of challenges and if you start from the side of their access to productive resources, land for example, that is an issue in several jurisdictions, the ability of women to own land, certainly at the scale that can engage in large-scale productive ventures,” she stated.
“We know and studies confirm that women pay their debts very consistently, but when you look at financing for example, there are practices, norms, and perceptions that make it difficult for women to access financing.”
Women have particular difficulties in these procedures, according to Dr. Kategekwa, who cited the border posts as an example. These difficulties might range from the taxes and charges they must pay to the laws and regulations that are subject to arbitrary changes.
“But let’s also discuss market information, the opportunities that are guaranteed, how women can take advantage of them, and the incentives that exist in these nations that can enable women to produce at the kind of scale that would enable them to enter international trade,” she asked.
According to Dr. Kategekwa, these are all significant problems that women have when they trade internationally. She framed her statement in two ways. The first was that financial institutions need to be mindful of how they conduct business to make sure that it explicitly addresses the needs of women.
Dr. Kategekwa stressed that this was a basic matter, which essentially implies that all of the activities and businesses of these financial institutions must have a gender focus. She pointed out that the gender marker, which guarantees that the investments and projects the Bank undertakes are considerate of women, is being pioneered by the African Development Bank Group. She noted that they will demonstrate the effect and growth of the gender dividend through the investments.
Regarding the second question, Dr. Joy Kategekwa stated that one would also need to focus on the particulars of programs designed to open up particular possibilities for women as well as the certain difficulties that women have when attempting to take advantage of such chances.
According to Dr. Kategekwa if money was a problem, one might consider the Affirmative Financing Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), a ground-breaking initiative of the African Development Bank Group that was beginning to make a significant impact on the persistent problem of women’s access to financing.
She noted that by providing commercial banks with money so they could lend to female entrepreneurs, women were participating in a variety of business endeavors and providing women with inexpensive finance.
According to Dr. Kategekwa, they should anticipate that it will begin to alter the rules of women’s capacity to launch, maintain, and grow their enterprises. From the standpoint of regional integration, she added, they were thrilled about it as it meant that the necessary skills could be developed to begin taking advantage of the enormous opportunities being created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA).
Dr. Kategekwa discussed the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks, another AfDB Group project spearheaded by President Akinwumi Adesina, in addition to AFAWA. She said that this has the ability to significantly influence the young people of Africa’s opinions. Dr. Kategekwa pointed out that when young people have ideas, they may turn them into businesses, products, or services. According to her, it would be a legitimate company idea that might begin their process of earning money and building riches.
She expressed hope that these concepts may eventually be developed into the industries of the future. “The AfDB Group believes that these two programs, along with many others at the Bank, are significantly changing the landscape of women and women-owned businesses in Africa,” she added.
Photo credit: AfDB Group
