ITC, GroFin invites Nigeria, others to apply for SheTrades Invest

Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and GroFin have issued a call for women entrepreneurs to join SheTrades Invest for a chance to receive training and mentoring on access to finance and potential investment for their business. Launched in December 2018 as part of ITC’s global SheTrades initiative, SheTrades Invest aims to improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs by providing training and connecting them to invest. ITC Media Officer, Jarle Hetland in a statement to the Daily Times on Tuesday, said that SheTrades Invest will strengthen the financial and managerial capacity of women entrepreneurs, improve their investment readiness, and connect them to impact investors and financiers. “As part of this strategic alliance with ITC, GroFin, a development finance company, will deploy risk-impact capital into vetted and eligible small and growing businesses to create economic growth and jobs for women,” Hetland stated. This initial phase targets businesses in 14 countries; Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. “Please note that women owned-businesses that do not fit the initial criteria are still encouraged to apply. “SheTrades is building a cohort of impact investors to facilitate the connection between them and SMEs; GroFin is the first investor out of many to join.
“SheTrades will reach out to additional countries in future to meet the needs of more women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Apply to be a part of SheTrades Invest: https://www.shetrades.com/en/projects/shetrades-invest,” the ITC added. The SheTrades initiative aims to connect three million women to market by 2021. The initiative brings together stakeholders around the world to work on seven actions to address trade barriers and create greater opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organizationand the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. While GroFin is a pioneering private development financial institution, specialising in financing and supporting small and growing businesses (SGBs) across Africa and the Middle East, with headquarters in Mauritius. GroFin combines medium term loan capital and specialised business support to grow SGBs in emerging markets, delivered through their local offices.