News
Women Entrepreneurs: Driving Force Behind Economic Growth in Africa
With focus on supporting the growth and development of women entrepreneurs in Africa, Mastercard has committed to three partnerships that will impact women in Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.
This comes in celebration of the annual Women Entrepreneurship Day, serving as a reminder of the important role women play in economic development in Africa.
The partnerships will include Injaz in Egypt, Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF) in Nigeria and Junior Achievement South Africa (JA South Africa).
These partnerships will focus on empowering young girls and women through financial literacy training and mentorship, giving them access to a network of women in similar situations.
Supporting these female entrepreneurs is vital to their sustained growth, as they become self-sufficient and better able to provide for themselves and their families.
This has a positive impact on their immediate community as well, with knowledge transfer and employment opportunities being created.
The importance becomes even more evident when you consider that Africa has the world’s highest rate of working poverty – people who are employed but earning less than US$2 a day.
Additionally, according to the World Bank Africa’s youth population is expected to grow by 42.5 million by 2020.
Partnerships That Work
In Egypt, Mastercard will collaborate with Injaz Egypt to introduce a skills development program for young female entrepreneurs to help them establish, sustain and grow their businesses.
Twenty teams of Egyptian women aged between 21 and 27 over an eight month period will be empowered to pursue their dreams and establish their financial independence. Trainings will include planning and review of establishing a business model.
With women making up almost 50 percent of the population in Egypt, and according to the CAPMAS study they are the head of almost 18 percent of households but only constitute less than a quarter of the country’s labour force.
With an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent, small and medium enterprises are a vital catalyst for economic growth.
Across in Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa – Mastercard has recommitted to its partnership with YTF to continue efforts to improve the lives of women through financial literacy, technology and skills-enhancement training.
The partnership, established in 2012, will now include the training and mentorship of 150 apprentices, talented young women that are now working for female business owners that have previously gone through or are currently going through the YTF programme.
This will create a ripple effect that will impact generations of women in Nigeria. To date, the partnership has impacted over 11,000 Nigerian women entrepreneurs across 14 states.
To see how much of an impact the partnership has had – watch the story of Afoma Ebri, an entrepreneur from Owerri in Nigeria.
In South Africa, Mastercard will be extending its support of the JA South Africa Mini Enterprise Programme for the sixth year, with a R1.4 million donation that sees more than 450 learners, predominantly young women, participate in the organisation’s flagship programme. To date, over 2,500 young South Africans have benefited from the partnership.
The Mini Enterprise Programme guides the selected Grade 10 and 11 learners from 13 schools across seven provinces in theory and practical sessions over a 15 week period.
Focusing on business theory, accounting, cash flow and marketing, the programme helps the learners to develop and market their own product to their community, while building their interpersonal skills and confidence.
Stories of Hope and Resilience
The impact being made through the collaboration between Mastercard and YTF is evident by the stories of women in Nigeria empowering themselves and their families. Eucharia, a 36 year old proud mother of four, started her tiling and building materials supply business Tokaf Investments in what is a typically male-dominated industry.
Another challenge was an over-sized and under-used warehouse that served as more of a liability than an asset.
The training she received enabled her to totally re-brand her business and grow it by 60% using mobile technology to engage with her customers.
Euchaira has cut costs significantly and created growth that allows her to support her family, and also help mentor young girls in her community.
Bonolo Modise, aged 20, completed the JA South Africa course in 2013. Since primary school, she has run a small business called Jewellery by Noli, and makes custom jewellery using water pearls and African beads. Like her, nineteen-year old Faith Modipa completed the JA course in the same year, and is now studying a BCom in Accounting Sciences at the University of Pretoria. She aims to open her own accounting practice, and will draw on the skills learnt during the programme.
Partnerships across the continent, such as those established by Mastercard, will go a long way in securing the future of women as they establish themselves as business owners. Women entrepreneurs will have a dramatic impact on the growth of economies across Africa, and should not be underestimated.
Accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) adoption could increase Africa’s GDP by up to 4% over the next decade, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a report released on Tuesday, titled Africa Can Grow Faster With AI—If It Moves Now, economists from the IMF’s Africa Department say current levels of AI adoption and utilisation are expected to contribute just 0.2% to the region’s GDP over the next 10 years.
However, the report says stronger adoption, supported by the right infrastructure and policies, could raise the economic impact to about 4% by extending AI beyond today’s digitally connected firms.
Martin Schindler and other IMF economists say: “AI adoption in sub-Saharan Africa currently lags well behind every other region. If richer economies race ahead while African firms and governments lag, the productivity gap between the region and the rest of the world will only widen.”
Early signs of AI adoption are emerging across Africa, with countries including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria developing AI strategies.
Telecommunications operators, including Vodacom, Econet, Africell and MTN, are also integrating AI into their operations and networks.
Other examples include chatbots supporting teaching and learning in Nigeria and the South African Revenue Service’s use of data analytics for targeted tax audits.
However, the IMF says AI adoption must extend beyond these early use cases to deliver meaningful economic benefits.
“For the region, AI’s main promise is not about replacing office workers, but boosting productivity across the economy—helping informal firms manage inventory, enabling farmers to increase yields, and supporting mid-sized firms to transition to formality and export readiness,” the report reads.
The IMF is urging governments to prioritise investment in reliable electricity, affordable broadband, data infrastructure and digital skills to support wider AI adoption.
Many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon, continue to face electricity shortages, while broadband services remain costly and coverage is uneven.
The Fund believes stronger investment in power, connectivity, regional data infrastructure and digital skills would help unlock AI’s economic potential.
National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system to strengthen legal identity management and improve demographic data.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday, Mr Afolabi Yori, federal commissioner representing Kogi, said the initiative became operational nationwide on July 1, through the VitalReg platform.
Yori described the development as a landmark in Nigeria’s civil registration system, noting that it would modernise birth and death registration through a technology-driven platform that meets international standards.
He said the digital platform would improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria was accurately documented and securely stored.
According to him, civil registration is more than an administrative process, as it provides reliable statistics that support public policy formulation, resource allocation and national development planning.
“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent,” he said.
The commissioner said that the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and was working to expand the number to about 8,000.
He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with stakeholders to improve the capacity of registration personnel and ensure prompt documentation of vital events through the VitalReg platform.
Yori said the platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, and reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel.
He disclosed that the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnks-forte Technologies Ltd. as the commission’s technical partner to ensure system availability, cybersecurity and continuous technological improvement.
He called on parents, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media to support the initiative by encouraging the prompt registration of births and deaths.
Earlier, Samuel Omonakpeme, director in Kogi, NPC State, described the commencement of the digital registration system as another milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Omonakpeme stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.9, which seeks to provide legal identity for all.
He appreciated the Federal Government, the leadership of the commission, UNICEF and other development partners for supporting the implementation of the initiative.
The state director also urged parents, guardians, health institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and the media to mobilise public support for the timely registration of all births and deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that ICT personnel of the commission, led by Ehimoni Kolawole, conducted a live demonstration of the digital birth registration process using the VitalReg platform.
The demonstration showed that the registration process captures the biodata of both parents, while at least one parent must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to complete the registration of a newborn.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
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