Pan-African financial institution Ecobank Group has reported a significant 194 per cent increase in its lending to businesses led by women over the past year. According to the newly released Ecobank Gender Programme Report, the bank provided US$780 million in loans during 2025. This is a substantial rise from the US$265 million recorded in 2024. The figures were published on 11 March 2026 to coincide with International Women’s Day celebrations.
Despite the high level of entrepreneurial activity across Africa, women often struggle with a financing gap estimated at US$42 billion. Ecobank is attempting to tackle this issue through its Ellevate initiative. Originally created in 2020 to help businesses survive the pandemic, the programme now operates across 26 countries. It currently supports more than 103,000 registered women entrepreneurs. In 2025 alone, 21,000 new members joined the ecosystem while 24,000 women accessed mentoring and training services.
The group is also targeting the informal economy through its MAMA programme. This initiative launched in Ghana in 2024 and focuses on small scale entrepreneurs who often lack the documentation required for traditional bank loans. By helping these women build financial records, the bank aims to move them into the formal sector. Over 10,000 women have enrolled in the scheme so far with more than 2,000 receiving credit totalling US$1.8 million.
Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank, said: “Women entrepreneurs are among the most powerful drivers of local economic growth across Africa, yet many still face barriers to finance that limit their ability to scale. At Ecobank, we are working to close this gap by combining capital, capability building and market access through our pan-African platform. The strong growth in lending to women-led businesses reflects both the demand from entrepreneurs and the impact of initiatives such as Ellevate and our Gender Bond, which help mobilise capital specifically to support women-led growth.”
In West Africa, the bank has successfully used gender bonds to raise capital. Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire launched a bond in March 2025 that raised XOF 11 billion in 48 hours. These funds are being used to provide approximately 1,200 new loans to female-owned small businesses. Moving forward, the bank plans to expand Ellevate to all its markets and increase partnerships with impact investors to further support African women in business.
