Launched in 2022, the Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion (WYFEI 2030) Initiative, an integral part of the African Women’s Decade on Financial and Economic Inclusion (2020–2030), has led efforts to create multi-stakeholder platforms aimed at advancing tailored financial inclusion strategies for women and youth across Africa.
In a strategic push to bridge the continent’s longstanding financing gaps, the African Union Commission’s Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate convened a high-level stakeholder meeting in collaboration with the Sterling One Foundation. The event was supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the GIZ African Union Portfolio.
This pivotal gathering, held ahead of the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS 2025), focused on mobilizing private sector capital and expertise to unlock $100 billion in investments aimed at empowering at least 10 million women and youth in Africa by 2030 through the WYFEI 2030 Initiative.
The convening served as a platform for deep dialogue around strategies to design inclusive financial products and services, develop market infrastructure and data systems that support underserved entrepreneurs, and provide critical technical and business development support to women- and youth-led enterprises.
Systemic Reform at the Core
Ms. Prudence Nonkululeko Ngwenya, Director of the Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate at the African Union Commission, emphasized the need for structural change.
“A fundamental shift is needed to place women and youth at the center of resource allocation, policymaking, and accountability,” she said. “The private sector is not a guest at this table but a co-owner of the agenda. WYFEI 2030 is structured for co-investment, innovation, and scale—to transition from isolated impacts to ecosystem-level change.”
Shared Responsibility for Inclusive Growth
Echoing this vision, Ms. Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of Sterling One Foundation, reiterated the urgency of action.
“Inclusion cannot be rhetoric. Women and youth are central to Africa’s economic narrative. Any agenda that sidelines them is simply incomplete. Every day capital doesn’t reach them, opportunity is withheld from the continent,” she noted.
She further called for public–private partnerships that go beyond alignment to shared execution, grounded in the continent’s investment realities.
Dr. Tobias Thiel, Director of the GIZ African Union Portfolio, stressed that addressing financial exclusion is not only an ethical obligation but a strategic necessity.
“Overcoming systemic barriers is both a moral and economic imperative. We must move forward together, with boldness and resolve, to build an Africa where opportunity is equal and potential knows no bounds,” he said, reaffirming GIZ’s continued support for WYFEI 2030.
EmpowerHer Africa Initiative Unveiled
A key highlight of the convening was the launch of the EmpowerHer Africa initiative, introduced by Dr. Nadi Albino, Deputy Director of Partnerships at UNICEF. This landmark programme aims to reach 50 million adolescent girls and young women across Africa, providing access to finance, technology, and entrepreneurship opportunities through the WYFEI 2030 framework—nurturing the next generation of innovators and leaders.
Looking Ahead
This high-level dialogue marks the beginning of a continental series of engagements spearheaded by the AU Commission’s Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate, with the Sterling One Foundation playing a leading role in facilitating private–public collaboration.
These ongoing engagements aim to catalyze innovative financing, forge strategic partnerships, and dismantle systemic barriers to women’s and youth’s economic participation. By fostering collaboration and co-investment, stakeholders are paving the way for scalable, inclusive, and sustainable economic transformation across Africa.
