The co-founder and Managing Partner of Africa Legal Associates (ALA) Nana Adjoa Hackman has called for deliberate and enforceable measures to close the financing gap facing women- and youth-led businesses across Africa, saying high-level policy commitments must translate into practical support on the ground.
Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) in Accra at the close of the first day’s sessions, she said discussions throughout the conference repeatedly underscored how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women and young entrepreneurs remain tightly interconnected but underserved by existing financial and trade systems.
“It’s interesting how intertwined the three groups are,” she said, referring to SMEs, women and youth. “We have to be deliberate and intentional about supporting them with solutions that actually work at all levels.”
Adjoa Hackman said day one of the dialogues featured targeted engagements on women and youth participation in mining, oil and gas, SME financing, venture scaling, cross-border trade and entrepreneurship, all aimed at turning the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) into a vehicle for inclusive growth.
According to her, a recurring theme across the sessions was the need to “demystify” the AfCFTA so that small businesses better understand how to access opportunities under the single market.
She added that participants emphasised stronger collaboration between governments, development finance institutions and the private sector to expand education, skills training, capacity building and access to business networks for women and young entrepreneurs.
Financial inclusion also featured prominently, with proposals for legal and policy reforms to guarantee opportunities for women-led firms.
“There have been strong calls for laws, regulations and policies requiring a specific percentage of all public procurement to go to women-led businesses, as well as tax incentives,” she noted.
She pointed out that Ghana has already incorporated such provisions into its Affirmative Action Act but stressed that implementation — not legislation alone — would determine impact.
“What we need to do now is actually implement those laws,” she said, adding that effective enforcement in Ghana could encourage other African countries to follow suit.
Other recommendations emerging from the dialogues included simplified customs procedures, clearer and more predictable rules of origin to protect SMEs, and faster implementation of AfCFTA protocols by member states.
She warned that failure to operationalise the protocol on women and youth could undermine the broader success of the trade agreement.
“If we don’t implement the women and youth protocol, then the AfCFTA is not going to work properly,” she said, calling for more countries to sign and ratify the instrument.
She also highlighted the potential contribution of Africa’s diaspora — described as the continent’s “sixth region” — in mobilising capital and expertise to support SMEs and entrepreneurs.
The remarks capped a day that included the opening ceremony attended by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and Angola’s First Lady, alongside leaders from government, business, academia and the diplomatic corps.
Insights from the various sessions will be compiled into a policy compact to be presented during the presidential and business leaders’ dialogues later in the week.
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