WB Loans $100m for Women Entrepreneurs

Dec 26 , 2020


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The World Bank has provided a 100-million-dollar loan to Ethiopia to finance the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Project (WEDP). The funds will be used to provide credit and training support to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) solely or partly owned by female entrepreneurs. The loan agreement was signed by Yasmin Wohabrebbi, state minister for Finance, and Ousmane Dione, World Bank country director for Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Eritrea. The funding will support women-owned businesses, disproportionately affected due to limited access to credit, according to Yasmin. She added that the project would address liquidity constraints faced by enterprises that are otherwise viable. The additional financing for the project is expected to bolster previous gains made. In the past, it has enabled access to loans for first-time borrowers through introducing data-driven credit scoring technologies and reduced collateral requirements.


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