Pan African Women Projects Plans to Establish USD 5 Billion Microfinance Bank in Africa

According to the Guardian, an African based news provider, the Pan African Women Projects (PAWP), (a non-government organization), announced that they plan to establish a microfinance financial institution in Africa with a capital base of USD 5 billion [1]. The formal plan for the bank will be presented at this year’s Pan African Women Conference October 21st-23rd, 2009 in South Africa [3]. The proposed pan African women bank would create the largest financial institution in the country according to Mrs. Eno Ben Udensi, President of the PAWP [8]. No additional information regarding the capital base is provided.

In addition, the President of PAWP has stated that many African countries, including Nigeria, would bid to host the headquarters of the bank, adding that the conference would not only serve as a venue to unveil the details of the bank, but will also be where African nations will vie to serve as the headquarters of the bank and its significant capital [4]. The purpose of establishing the prospective micro credit financial institution would be to raise funds from all over the world and provide funding to women groups engaged in small scale businesses in Africa. Additional comments elicited by Ms. Udensi note that the bank would be dedicated to funding projects (in addition to microloans) geared towards the following: promoting free and mandatory primary education, free adult education for women as well as scholarship for gifted children [8]. The PAWP plans a target date of the bank’s formation to be set by 2010. No additional information regarding the timeframe of the project is provided.

Nigeria is the largest country in Africa with 149 million people. The country’s economy is heavily dependent on oil and natural gas exports and exports 2.473 million bbl/day (5 in the world) and 21.2 billion cu m (11th in the world), respectively [5]. The three largest financial institutions in Nigeria to date are Zenith International Bank, Oceanic Bank, and Intercontinental with USD 2.5 billion, USD 1.8 billion, and USD 1.7 billion capital base, respectively [6].

The PAWP is an international non-profit organization, headquartered in South Africa, which consists of seven decision making groups, that include: Pan African Women Conference, Pan African Women Education Foundation, Pan African Women Health Trusts, Pan African Women Model Homes, Pan African Womanhood Mission, Pan African Women Investment Corporation, Pan African Women Trust Fund & Bank. The primary objective of the organization is to rid poverty from the continent of Africa through supporting economic efforts and contributions of women using development projects. The organization does not report to the Mix Market.

The Pan African Women Project was in the news in July 2009 for their model homes project for women and children in Liberia [7]. The organization invested USD 5 million into a project developed to enhance the financial capabilities Liberian women and children.

By Zoran Stanisljevic