Africa’s Agenda 2063 envisages the effective participation of women in public and private life, through a full and fair share of economic, social, cultural and political opportunities and decision making. The NEPAD Spanish Fund is contributing to this goal by supporting development projects that are addressing gender concerns in Africa in areas such as business skills, vocational training, agriculture, nutrition, ICT, microfinance, income generation, Gender based violence, as well as promotion of women’s rights and participation in leadership positions, among others.

The NEPAD/Spanish Fund for African Women’s Empowerment is a partnership between the NEPAD Agency and the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AECID). It has benefited from a 20 million Euros contribution from the Government of Spain.

79 projects in 38 countries in Africa have been supported since its inception in 2007 . Over 1.2  million women  have directly benefited from the fund.

The overall long-term goal of the NEPAD/Spanish Fund is to promote gender equality and increase the capacities and autonomy of African women, in order to contribute to the acceleration of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular MDG3 and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG5.

The NEPAD/Spanish Fund for African Women’s Empowerment is a partnership between the NEPAD Agency and the Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (AECID). It has benefited from a 20 million Euros contribution from the Government of Spain.

The overall long-term goal of the NEPAD/Spanish Fund is to promote gender equality and increase the capacities and autonomy of African women, in order to contribute to the acceleration of the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular MDG3 and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG5.

Furthermore, the work of the Fund is aligned to the priorities of the African Union Gender Policy, the Africa Women Decade (2010-2020) as well as with other international and regional policies and frameworks, to ensure sustainability of the programme and projects and the achievement of Agenda 2063.

The specific objective of the NEPAD/Spanish Fund is to support actions on gender equality and women’s empowerment, specifically linked to improving women’s economic, political and social empowerment and full use of their rights. The Fund provides financial and technical support to women’s grassroots organisations, civil society organisations government institutions and Regional Economic Communities.

Over 1.2 million women benefited directly from the Fund in areas such as  business skills and vocational training, agriculture, nutrition and value  chain, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), development of  women ‘s SMEs,  microfinance, income generation, promotion of women’s right, advocacy  for promoting women’s participation and leadership in decision making , Gender-Based Violence (GBV), gender mainstreaming and employment among others.

The Fund has contributed to women’s economic empowerment through skills transfer, access to finance, the set-up of businesses and job creation. At institutional level, the capacities of government institutions and civil society organizations including grassroots women’s organisations have been strengthened. This has led to an increased representation and effective participation of women in decision making processes in political parties, local governments, the private sector and civil society organisations and sound implementation of their National Plans for eradication and prevention of Gender Based Violence in some of the most affected countries.

In addition, 2 million Euros have been earmarked for establishing Business Incubators for Women (BIAWE) projects to be implemented by the Common Market of East Africa (COMESA) and the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) regions.

 

 

 

“Aspiration 6, in Agenda 2063, Africas vision for transformation, the goal is to see an Africa whose development is people driven, relying on the potential of the African People, particularly its Women and Youth and caring for children.  The long term growth of Africa requires an environment where women can reach their full potential in order to fully contribute to the development of the continent. In order to ensure that there are additional resources to support development projects that are addressing gender concerns in Africa, the NEPAD Agency  in  partnership  with  the  Spanish  Cooperation  established  the  NEPAD  Spanish Fund. The decision to create this Fund emanates from the fundamental understanding that gender concerns and womens empowerment objectives must form an integral part of the development agenda if stakeholders are to make significant strides towards equitable and sustainable growth and human centered development”.

Dr Ibrahim Mayaki
NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer

"The NEPAD/Spain Fund for the Empowerment of African Women was created as a result of the excellent collaboration between NEPAD and the Spanish Cooperation and with the aim of promoting gender equality among African women, increasing their capacities and enhancing their autonomy. Since its creation, the Fund has financed 79 projects in 38 African countries, contributing to an increase of female participation in the labour market and in all economic activities, and promoting womens social and political influence, while fighting against gender based-violence. This Fund is a good example of the work and the Spanish Cooperation ‘s commitment for both the empowerment of women in Africa and the achievement of the full exercise of their economic, social, political and cultural rights, which represents a key vector towards the sustainable development and progress of the African continent”

Fernando Garcia Casas
Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain.

“Any discussion about sustainable development is not complete without a conversation on gender equality. Since women account for half of any country’s talent base, empowering their participation in the workforce greatly enhances productivity and fosters economic growth, and ensures that women benefit from development".

The NEPAD/Spanish Fund Team