New Faces New Voices (NFNV), a group of advocates from 15 African countries focusing on expanding financial inclusion for women, recently announced plans to raise RWF 16 billion (USD 20 million) for a fund to expand women’s access to finance. Of this total, the group is seeking to attract RWF 4 billion (USD 5 million) from sales of NFNV shares to its members at RWF 1,000 (USD 1.25) per share. Members unable to pay the full USD 1.25 are allowed to pay a lower amount. The remaining amount is to be sourced from government and private investors. Since March 2016, NFNV has sold shares to the 1,000 members of NFNV for RWF 80 million (USD 100,000).
Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the Chairperson of NFNV, stated that the biggest hurdles that Rwanda’s women entrepreneurs face include “lack of collateral” to get loans from traditional banks and “lack of information and training to come up with a business plan.” NFNV was formed with the goal of overcoming these hurdles by increasing women’s access to financial products and building the skills of women entrepreneurs [1]. Financial data on the organization is not available
By Sharanya Madhavan, Research Associate
About New Faces New Voices:
New Faces New Voices is an advocacy organization that focuses on expanding financial inclusion for women by supporting female-run small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through institutional strengthening, advocacy, networking, skills building and mentoring. The organization was founded in Rwanda by the former First Lady of South Africa, Graca Machel. Chapters of New Faces New Voices operate in Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Financial information on the organization is
unavailable.
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] The New Times: New Faces New Voices to invest Rwf16bn in women’s fund
MicroCapital Universe: New Faces New Voices
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