Women are not simply beneficiaries of Africa’s growth. They are one of its most important growth assets. Yet too often, our investment frameworks fail to recognise, measure and finance the full economic value they create.
Traditionally, investment success has been measured through financial returns, revenue growth, profitability and market share. These metrics remain important. However, in a world shaped by technological disruption, demographic change, climate pressures and evolving societal expectations, we should ask a broader question: are we directing capital towards the drivers of long-term, sustainable growth?
Nowhere is that question more relevant than in Africa.
The continent’s youthful population, rising urbanisation, expanding consumer markets and accelerating digital adoption position it as one of the world’s most compelling long-term growth opportunities. But Africa’s opportunity is not simply to grow larger economies. It is to build economies that are more inclusive, resilient and capable of creating value across generations.
That requires us to rethink not only where we invest, but how we identify growth opportunities.
READ: Access for women does not always lead to opportunity
Women already play a central role across virtually every dimension of economic activity. They are entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, employees, employers and consumers. Across Africa they create economic value every day, yet capital allocation does not always reflect the scale of their contribution.
This is not simply an inclusion challenge. It is an investment challenge.
Across the continent, women participate actively in entrepreneurship and business formation. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), African women have the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in the world, with an estimated 24% engaged in entrepreneurship. Yet access to capital remains uneven, as many traditional investment mandates and performance indicators were not originally designed to assess the full potential of women-led businesses and emerging market opportunities.
As SMMEs are key drivers of employment, often creating more jobs than large private sector corporations, we therefore need to create models that measure not only financial performance, but also how businesses enable women to participate, lead, create jobs and contribute to economic growth.
The challenge is particularly relevant in South Africa, where unemployment remains persistently high. At 33.6%, the national unemployment rate continues to constrain economic participation, with women disproportionately affected. The Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) Quarter 2 of 2026 reported that, unemployment among women stood at 37.5%, compared with 30.3% for men, highlighting the persistent gender gap in labour market participation. The result is a significant gap between economic potential and economic participation. If we are serious about accelerating growth, we cannot ignore a large share of the continent’s productive capacity.
Too often, discussions about women’s economic participation are framed primarily as social-impact objectives. While the social benefits are undeniable, there is also a compelling economic case. Capital directed towards women-led businesses, entrepreneurs and investment ecosystems has the potential to expand markets, create jobs, stimulate innovation and generate broader economic multiplier effects. According to McKinsey study, advancing women’s equality could add the equivalent of 10% to Africa’s collective GDP, representing hundreds of billions of dollars in additional economic output.
This philosophy informed Standard Bank’s US$10 million commitment to the African Women Impact Fund. The objective was not only to support women-owned businesses, but to strengthen the investment ecosystem by backing fund managers with deep local market knowledge and the ability to identify and scale opportunity across North, West, East and Southern Africa.
The significance of this approach extends beyond the capital deployed. It demonstrates what becomes possible when we invest not only in businesses, but in the ecosystems that enable businesses to grow. Capital can finance a business. The right capital, deployed through the right investment structures, can unlock participation, strengthen markets, create employment and support sustainable growth.
The broader lesson is that investment success should not be assessed solely by the returns capital generates. It should also consider the opportunities it creates, the participation it enables and the economic potential it unlocks.
This does not diminish the importance of financial returns. It strengthens our understanding of them.
READ: Women deserve more opportunities in logistics and freight sector
Many traditional investment models were not designed to recognise the realities of emerging markets, informal economies and underserved sectors. As a result, they can overlook businesses and entrepreneurs with significant growth potential. Expanding our understanding of investment intelligence does not mean lowering standards. It means developing better ways of identifying future value.
Much of Africa’s economic dynamism exists in places that conventional investment approaches can struggle to see women-owned enterprises, growing SMEs, local innovators and entrepreneurs building businesses under challenging conditions. Their contribution often extends beyond what conventional valuation models capture.
As we mark seventy years since the 1956 Women’s March, we have an opportunity to move beyond recognition towards meaningful economic participation. Doing so will require stronger collaboration between government, regulators, financial institutions, development finance institutions and investors. It will require better data, more intentional capital allocation and a clearer understanding of how economic inclusion contributes to long-term growth.
The question is no longer whether women belong at the centre of Africa’s growth story. They already do. The real question is whether our institutions, investment frameworks and capital allocation decisions can recognise it.
If we change what we value, we will change where capital flows. And if we change where capital flows, we can change the trajectory of Africa’s growth.
Dzedze is the Executive Head of Strategic Partnerships for Global Markets at Standard Bank Corporate & Investment Banking and Chair of the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF)
- African women have the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity globally, with an estimated 24% involved in entrepreneurship according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
- Women in Africa face uneven access to capital due to traditional investment mandates not fully capturing the potential of women-led businesses and emerging market opportunities.
- South Africa's national unemployment rate is 33.6%, with women's unemployment notably higher at 37.5% compared to 30.3% for men, underscoring a persistent gender gap in economic participation.
- Advancing women's equality in Africa could add the equivalent of 10% to the continent's GDP, translating to hundreds of billions of dollars in additional economic output according to a McKinsey study.
- Standard Bank committed US$10 million to the African Women Impact Fund to support women-owned businesses and strengthen investment ecosystems across North, West, East, and Southern Africa.
Women are not simply beneficiaries of Africa's growth.
Traditionally, investment success has been measured through financial returns, revenue growth, profitability and market share.
Nowhere is that question more relevant than in Africa.
READ: Access for women does not always lead to opportunity
Women already play a central role across virtually every dimension of economic activity.
Across the continent, women participate actively in entrepreneurship and business formation.
As SMMEs are key drivers of employment, often creating more jobs than large private sector corporations, we therefore need to create models that measure not only financial performance, but also how businesses enable women to participate, lead, create jobs and contribute to economic growth.
Too often, discussions about women's economic participation are framed primarily as social-impact objectives. While the social benefits are undeniable, there is also a compelling economic case. Capital directed towards women-led businesses, entrepreneurs and investment ecosystems has the potential to expand markets, create jobs, stimulate innovation and generate broader economic multiplier effects.
READ: Women deserve more opportunities in logistics and freight sector
Much of Africa's economic dynamism exists in places that conventional investment approaches can struggle to see women-owned enterprises, growing SMEs, local innovators and entrepreneurs building businesses under challenging conditions.
As we mark seventy years since the 1956 Women's March, we have an opportunity to move beyond recognition towards meaningful economic participation.
If we change what we value, we will change where capital flows.
Dzedze is the Executive Head of Strategic
