{"id":11114,"date":"2025-07-10T13:01:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T13:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracamacheltrust.org\/?p=8198"},"modified":"2026-01-23T01:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:16:05","slug":"afrishela-funds-alternative-credit-assessment-another-promising-approach-to-narrowing-the-gender-financing-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/featured\/afrishela-funds-alternative-credit-assessment-another-promising-approach-to-narrowing-the-gender-financing-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"Afrishela Fund\u2019s Alternative Credit Assessment: Another promising approach to narrowing the gender financing gap\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Insights from the World Bank GROW Expo\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite women contributing nearly 40% of Africa\u2019s GDP, they receive less than 7% of private equity and venture capital funding\u2014and only a fraction of that reaches women-led SMEs. At the recent World Bank\u2019s GROW Expo in Uganda, the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust\u2019s Afrishela Fund challenged this disparity with a bold solution: redefining risk evaluation through its pioneering <\/span>Alternative Credit Assessment Framework<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why traditional financing fails women<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Women entrepreneurs face systemic barriers in accessing capital. Traditional credit assessments rely on rigid criteria\u2014high collateral demands, inflexible loan structures, and biased risk models\u2014that disproportionately exclude women, who often lack property titles or formal credit histories. The result? A $42 billion financing gap for African women-owned SMEs (IFC, 2024).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the recent GROW Expo, hosted by the World Bank and Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trusts’ Afrishela Fund highlighted how these outdated tools perpetuate inequality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Jane Mbinya, Senior Investment Officer for Afrishela, emphasised during her breakout session:\u202f<\/span>“When loans require land as collateral in a country where only 20% of women own land, we’re not assessing risk\u2014we’re enforcing exclusion.”<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Afrishela\u2019s new model expands who can get a loan by:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Accepting different collateral<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n