Ecobank Group has announced a significant expansion of its gender-financing solution, ‘Ellevate by Ecobank,’ aimed at providing better access to financial and non-financial resources for women entrepreneurs across Africa.
This enhancement underscores Ecobank’s commitment to women-led businesses and economic inclusivity on the continent.
The expansion extends the Ellevate program’s benefits beyond Commercial Banking customers to include Consumer Banking and Corporate Banking customers.
Individual entrepreneurs from both the formal and informal sectors can now leverage the program’s enhanced features. This move aligns with the World Bank’s estimate that closing the gender financing gap in Africa could add $2.5 trillion to the continent’s GDP by 2025.
Jeremy Awori, Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, highlighted the bank’s dedication to empowering women entrepreneurs.
“Since its launch, the Ellevate program has disbursed over $200 million in loans and provided networking, leadership, and capacity-building opportunities. With ‘Ellevate 2.0,’ Ecobank aims to further solidify its role as a key financial partner for female entrepreneurs.”
The upgraded Ellevate program now offers unsecured loans of up to $50,000, competitive interest rates, and reduced collateral requirements.
Additional features include access to Ecobank’s MyTradeHub platform for market expansion, tailored wealth management services, training initiatives, and a loyalty program.
Ellevate’s enhanced offering will be launched in nine countries, including ;Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, Togo and Zimbabwe by the end of March 2025 with a phased rollout across other sub-Saharan African nations throughout the year.