This year’s Summit addresses a fundamental question for our members and partners: What makes entrepreneurial ecosystems truly effective for women? Convening in Rwanda, where women entrepreneurs form the backbone of the economy, provides the perfect context for in-depth exploration of strategies that unlock women’s entrepreneurial potential. Together, we’ll examine approaches that are yielding measurable results and discover how these insights can transform women’s entrepreneurship outcomes worldwide.
Key focus areas include:
- Unlocking debt finance for women entrepreneurs in Africa: Globally, at least 30 percent of women in the non-agricultural labor force are self-employed in the informal sector—in Africa, this figure reaches 63 percent (World Bank). Not surprisingly, all Alliance members in Sub-Saharan Africa have developed programs targeting informal businesses, compared to just 31 percent of members in other regions. Leading financial service providers will share insights on improving WMSME financing and creating conditions for women entrepreneurs’ business success.
- Fast growth startup enablers: A crucial focus for strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems is improving women’s access to enablers such as incubators/ accelerators, mentors/coaches, networks and early-stage financing. Summit participants will hear about successful solutions that can be emulated to build the entrepreneurial pipeline.
- Gender intelligent digital financial services: The gender gap in financial access is closing largely due to digital financial services. Moving beyond access to use, adding value and retaining customers requires gender intelligent sales funnel design. The Summit will showcase fintech and neobanks that have cracked the code sharing useful insights for incumbents.
- Scaling Women’s Markets Programs: While all Alliance members have strategies for women entrepreneurs, many are increasing their footings by catering to life cycle needs: health, education, wealth, retirement. Use cases will be shared on building a compelling value proposition that addresses women’s needs at important life moments.
- CEO Forum: CEOs discuss the most pressing issues facing financial services firms today, from navigating DEI backlash to addressing the climate emergency.
The Summit will also be complemented by four important annex events:
- Members’ Meeting on May 27: Alliance members will come together to share the latest best practices from their Women’s Markets Programs, raise challenges, and receive real-time feedback from peers in the network.
- Launch of WE Finance Code Rwanda on the morning of May 28: The public launch of the WE Finance Code Rwanda will be attended by Rwandan dignitaries and ecosystem partners who will share what needs to be done to build a more female-friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country and how the Code is galvanizing action.
- Women’s Financial Inclusion Data (WFID) Community of Champions Workshop on the Afternoon of May 29: National regulators from countries including Bangladesh, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Pakistan, will participate in this workshop focused on “Data-Driven Regulatory Interventions to Support Women’s Full Financial Inclusion.” Each community member will present a key regulatory intervention that is enabling female entrepreneurship in their country.
- WE Finance Code Study Tour on May 30: WE Finance Code Champions from 30+ countries implementing the Code will convene to discuss challenges, lessons learned, and best practices in a collaborative learning atmosphere.
The 2025 Annual Summit and surrounding events offer an unparalleled opportunity to learn from global leaders in women’s financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. Join us in Kigali to learn from and connect with peers at the forefront of enabling women entrepreneurs. Register now to secure your spot!
