African Development Bank and AXIAN Launch Digital Finance Programme to Support 34,000 Women-led Businesses in Africa

AXIAN Group and the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) have launched a major women’s financial inclusion programme to expand access to finance and business support for more than 34,000 women-led enterprises in five African countries.

Supported by the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), the programme aims to address one of the biggest constraints facing women-owned businesses in Africa – limited access to finance.

Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship worldwide, yet women entrepreneurs still face an estimated $49 billion financing gap.

The programme will be implemented through AXIAN Group’s digital financial services platforms, Mixx (https://apo-opa.co/4xtzsuw) and Mvola, which integrate digital lending, financial literacy training, business development services and digital inclusion initiatives to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses and improve their access to formal financial services.

It comprises two complementary components. The first will provide tailored digital financial products and services to 34,000 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Madagascar, Tanzania and Senegal. The second will deliver financial literacy, digital skills and entrepreneurship training to 25,000 women across Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo and Comoros.

The programme will leverage mobile money services, digital lending solutions and alternative credit assessment capabilities to reach women entrepreneurs who have traditionally been underserved by conventional financial systems.

Women-owned businesses represent one of Africa’s greatest untapped economic opportunities, yet they continue to face barriers to accessing the financial tools needed to expand, create jobs and contribute more fully to their local economies. Through this partnership, AXIAN and the African Development Bank aim to change that.

“Across Africa, millions of women are already running successful businesses. The challenge is not entrepreneurship. It is access to finance, to digital tools and to opportunities for growth,” said Erwan Gelebart, CEO of AXIAN Digibank and Fintech. “Through Mixx and MVola, we are using technology and financial innovation to support women entrepreneurs in building stronger businesses, creating jobs and participating more fully in the digital economy. This programme is about unlocking opportunity at scale.”

Melissa Basque-Roux, Coordinator of the African Development Bank’s AFAWA initiative, said that although women entrepreneurs are central to Africa’s economic transformation, too many still face barriers to accessing finance, digital tools and business support needed to grow.

“Through AFAWA and We-Fi, the African Development Bank is pleased to support this partnership with AXIAN, Mixx and MVola. The partnership will expand tailored digital financial services, strengthen financial literacy and unlock new opportunities for women-led businesses across the continent,” she said.

The programme will focus on five priorities: expanding access to digital finance for women-led businesses, strengthening financial and digital literacy, developing financial products tailored to women entrepreneurs, accelerating digital inclusion through mobile technology, and supporting women-owned businesses to transition to and thrive in the formal economy.

Implementation will be led by Mixx & MVola, in partnership with local operating companies in participating countries, combining regional expertise with country-level execution to maximise impact and reach.

The initiative builds on the African Development Bank’s broader support for AXIAN Telecom. In January 2025, the Bank approved a $160 million senior corporate loan to expand digital connectivity and financial inclusion across nine African countries, including dedicated funding for 22,000 women entrepreneurs in Madagascar.

As Africa’s digital economy continues to grow, AXIAN and the African Development Bank believe technology plays a critical role in creating a more inclusive financial system by equipping women entrepreneurs with the tools, capital and skills needed to build sustainable businesses and create jobs.

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