This archive report was first published on 27 June 2021.
On June 27, 2021, Access Bank launched the third edition of its Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa programme, a initiative designed to increase access to finance for female-owned businesses and provide business training and mentoring.
The programme, which has received over 100,000 applications in the past two years, aims to empower women in business across nine African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia.
According to Ayona Trimnell, Group Head W Initiative, Access Bank has been a leading advocate for women’s economic empowerment through financing, capacity building, and creating networking opportunities.
“We launched the first Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton initiative in 2019 in line with our value proposition to be the number one bank of choice for women in Nigeria, and we have received over 100,000 applications over the last two years,” she said at the launch of the initiative.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020, the bank was able to expand the programme to female entrepreneurs across seven countries, with three winners emerging from Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Zambia out of 50 finalists.
This year, the programme will be bigger and better, with 100 women entrepreneurs emerging as finalists, and will be open to applicants from nine African countries.
The 2021 edition of the programme ends on August 13.
