The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) We-Fi program, AFAWA, seeks to improve WSMEs’ access to finance across the African continent using a unique risk sharing mechanism dedicated to WSMEs.
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) is currently implementing two We-Fi programs: Promoting Women’s Entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka, which aims to ensure that more WSMEs in the country have access to finance, training, and mentorship opportunities; and Women Accelerating Vibrant Enterprises (WAVES) Program, which aims to unlock the growth potential of WSMEs in the Pacific and Vietnam.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has developed its We-Fi program, Women of the Steppe, to support Central Asian women in business, with activities centered in the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Inter-American Development Bank Group’s (IDBG) We-Fi program, WeForLAC, promotes the growth of WSMEs by developing innovative and catalytic projects, building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in challenging country environments, generating important data to fill knowledge gaps, and promoting intelligent public policy and private sector initiatives.
The Islamic Development Bank’s (IsDB) We-Fi program, BRAVE Women, aims to enhance the resilience of women-owned and led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in fragile contexts.
The World Bank Group We-Fi program brings together the World Bank and IFC to leverage public and private sector initiatives to unlock financing for women-led/owned businesses (WSMEs) in developing countries, enabling women entrepreneurs to grow firms and develop sustainable businesses practices. The global program tests innovations and scales up successful pilots under three thematic pillars: Strengthening entrepreneurs ecosystem, access to finance, and access to markets. The program relies on country projects as well as global and regional initiatives. The supported activities include data and research, policy dialogs and advocacy, investments, partnerships, and peer-learning efforts.
The World Bank
The World Bank is leading projects with governments and private sector partners in 20 mostly IDA countries, regional initiatives in MENA and Sahel, and global activities on WSME data, impact evaluations, tourism, women, business and the law (WBL) reform advisory and policy advocacy.
IFC
The IFC-led component has global outreach, with IFC developing joint or complementary activities with the private sector in eligible countries on a rolling basis throughout the five-year We-Fi investment period.
