Abidjan, Apr 4, 2022 (AIP)- The Africa Development Club of the Attijariwafa bank group and the commercial company of Banque Cameroun organized, at the end of March 2022, the official launch in the CEMAC zone (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) of the support and promotion program for women entrepreneurs SUFAWE “Stand up for african women entrepreneurs”, under the sponsorship and with the effective presence of the Minister of Finance of Cameroon, Louis Paul Motaze.

More than 300 companies from Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Chad, Tunisia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco took part, reports a statement sent to the AIP.

This program is an operation carried out by SCB Cameroon in synergy with Attijari bank Tchad, Union gabonaise de banque, Crédit du Congo, and in collaboration with Dar Al Moukawil (entrepreneur’s house), which is a system dedicated to support for Moroccan VSEs, project promoters, auto-entrepreneurs, clients or not of the bank, as well as Dar Al Macharii (project houses), the same concept created by Attijari bank Tunisie.

Women entrepreneurs benefiting from the SUFAWE initiative, present on this occasion, will have access to the services of the Africa Development Club, to business corridors, and to the various support and promotion programs of the Attijariwafa bank group.

“The SUFAWE Program is an offshoot of the Africa Development Club and its activities, aimed at increasing women’s potential in business, by helping to make their contribution to the economic development of the Continent even more effective. “said the Director General of SCB Cameroon, Mr. Alexandre Beziaud.

The director of the Africa Development Club of the Attijariwafa bank group, Mrs. Mouna Kadiri, added that “this SUFAWE initiative provides, in its foundation, the network and the reliable business and information corridors to support companies in the making; whether formal or informal, and promote companies wishing to develop their outlets and growth opportunities.

Mrs Mounia Kadiri

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For the Deputy Director General of the National Agency for Investment and Export – Chad, Ms. Nicole NDoubayo, “Special emphasis must be placed on renewable energies, agrifood, e-commerce and the technology sector “.

“All businesswomen in Congo are in the informal sector and the challenge for SUFAWE is to train them in foreign languages and bring them together in a network; while adapting to the realities of all African countries and bringing women towards greater banking,” said the Director General of the Agency for the Promotion of Investment in Congo, Ms. Annick Mongo.

The Minister of Finance of Cameroon hoped that “in the long term, the program should make it possible to establish an ecosystem favorable to female entrepreneurs, relying on three (03) important levers, namely, cultivating talents, enabling entrepreneurs and startuppers to access financing, design policies favorable to entrepreneurship and set up facilitation infrastructures. »

The Minister of Finance of Cameroon

The speakers discussed the theme: “Business Women, Challenges and Growth Opportunities in Africa” with the participation of leading figures of female entrepreneurship in Cameroon and in the countries of the CEMAC region, Ms. Kate Fotso, CEO of Telcar Cocoa and SUFAWE Program Ambassador shared her long and rich experience in entrepreneurship. She called on her peers to ”break the glass ceiling, be honest and be trustworthy in honoring commitments”.

During these exchanges, Ms. Valérie Neim, CEO of Brazza Transactions, Assadya Mahamat Nour, DGA of the National Agency for IT Security and Electronic Certification of Chad, Aicha Salem Damane, PCA of the Maison de la Femme du Tchad and Carine Andela, social entrepreneur and promoter of “Made in Cameroon” highlighted the inclusive position of the African Businesswoman in the face of Africa’s growth challenges, on the social, economic, financial, health and environmental aspects.

This launch of the program mobilized more than 250 businesswomen, with a large Cameroonian delegation of rural businesswomen and VSEs from Sangmelima, Obala, Garoua, Bafoussam, Buea, Nkongsamba to present their expectations for this initiative. More than 100 business meetings took place during this day.

The SUFAWE program is an initiative of the Africa Development Club of the Attijariwafa bank group, aimed at promoting female entrepreneurship on the Continent, spearheading growth and development, in particular through integration into the business corridors of the network of the Group’s banks present in 16 countries in Africa, the support and structuring of projects for women entrepreneurs, and the use of the tools and services of the Africa Development Club for the creation of business opportunities and added value .

The Attijariwafa bank group, the AfDB (African Development Bank), and several women’s employers’ associations, signed in 2019, on the occasion of the 6th edition of the International Africa Development Forum in Casablanca, a partnership agreement relating to the support of African women entrepreneurs.

This mission of the Africa Development Club is the 32nd of its kind on the Continent since the creation of the Africa Development Club in 2016. SCB Cameroon, through CAD Cameroon, continues its commitment to serving Cameroonian companies and promoting opportunities country-wide and Africa-wide development.

The Africa Development Club (CAD) of the Attijariwafa bank group is a platform bringing together business communities, managers and public representatives with a view to catalysing business opportunities and pragmatically boosting investments across the Continent. The DAC now has nearly 3,000 active members from Africa and partner countries.

Source: Agence Ivoirienne De Presse