Supported through the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, the program will be delivered through AXIAN’s Mixx and MVola digital financial services platforms.

It will combine mobile money, digital lending, alternative credit assessment, financial literacy, and business development support to reach women entrepreneurs who are often excluded from conventional banking services.

A second component will provide financial literacy, digital skills, and entrepreneurship training to 25,000 women in Madagascar, Tanzania, Senegal, Togo, and Comoros.

The program will be implemented by Mixx and MVola alongside AXIAN’s local operating companies in the participating markets.

“Across Africa, millions of women are already running successful businesses,” said Erwan Gelebart, CEO of AXIAN Digibank and Fintech. “The challenge is not entrepreneurship. It is access to finance, to digital tools and to opportunities for growth.”

Women-owned businesses are a major part of Africa’s private sector, but many entrepreneurs still lack the formal financial records, collateral, and credit history required to access bank lending.

Mobile money platforms and alternative credit tools can help financial providers assess customers beyond traditional credit criteria, while digital payments can create transaction records that support future access to formal financial services.

Melissa Basque-Roux, coordinator of the African Development Bank’s AFAWA initiative, said the partnership would extend tailored services and strengthen business capabilities for women-led enterprises.

“The partnership will expand tailored digital financial services, strengthen financial literacy and unlock new opportunities for women-led businesses across the continent,” she said.

The program builds on the African Development Bank’s January 2025 approval of a $160 million senior corporate loan for AXIAN Telecom to expand digital connectivity and financial inclusion across nine African countries.

The earlier financing included more than $10 million for 22,000 women entrepreneurs in Madagascar through MVola, as well as a $2.5 million grant to improve financial literacy and credit access for 34,000 women-owned businesses in Madagascar, Tanzania, and Senegal.