Luvuyo Masinda SBG Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking
Standard Bank has committed $10 million to the African Women Impact Fund (AWIF), a Pan-African initiative that seeks to expand opportunities for women fund managers and strengthen investment into women-owned businesses across the continent.
The announcement was made during the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) Women to Africa event in Sandton, convened in partnership with Standard Bank and South Africa’s Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD).
Expanding Access to Finance
Luvuyo Masinda, Chief Executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank, said the bank views the commitment as part of a broader effort to mobilise capital for inclusive growth.
“Our focus is on driving sustainable growth across Africa by mobilising capital for women-owned businesses. By strengthening the role of women as fund managers and decision makers, we are helping expand access to finance, unlock opportunities and drive growth.”
Luvuyo Masinda SBG Chief Executive Officer, Corporate and Investment Banking. Photo courtesy
According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), female fund managers are twice as likely to invest in women-led businesses.
This multiplier effect is central to AWIF’s design, which positions women not only as beneficiaries of capital but also as decision makers influencing where capital flows.
A Collaborative Platform
AWIF is led by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), UN Women, and the African Union Commission (AUC), under the African Women Leadership Network (AWLN).
To operationalise the initiative, AWLN has partnered with Standard Bank Group as sponsor, RisCura Invest as investment manager, and MiDA Advisors as strategic advisor.
The fund’s creation responds to Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 and 8, which highlight gender equality, decent work, and inclusive economic growth.
The goal is to help close Africa’s $42 billion financing gap for women entrepreneurs by enabling women-led investment vehicles to mobilise capital at scale.
Gender-Lens Investing
For Lindeka Dzedze, Standard Bank’s Executive Head of Strategic Partnerships Global Markets and Chair of AWIF, the announcement signals the growing recognition that private capital has a role to play in reshaping gender dynamics in finance.
“This is the reason we must be intentional about gender-focused investing and ensure that women are well represented in decision-making roles within the investment management industry.”
The AWIF approach combines fund manager incubation, capacity building, and market-based investment strategies.
By identifying and supporting smaller fund managers often overlooked by larger institutions, the initiative aims to broaden access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and stimulate wider economic transformation.
Public–Private Partnerships in Action
The G20 Women to Africa event served as a platform for dialogue on gender equality and financial inclusion, highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaboration.
Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga of the DWYPD welcomed the Standard Bank commitment as an example of how partnerships can translate rhetoric into tangible action.
“We are proud to witness key public-private partnerships like this one, which move beyond dialogue and translate into strategic, sustainable solutions. It is through collaboration that a greater potential for success and shared benefits for our communities and country can be achieved.”
Broader Impact
The African Women Impact Fund frames women’s empowerment not only as a matter of equity but also as an economic strategy.
By increasing women’s representation as fund managers and investors, the fund aims to influence capital flows, expand entrepreneurship, and accelerate inclusive growth across AfriAfrica.
As a private–public partnership, AWIF underscores the role of financial institutions, international organisations, and governments in addressing structural barriers.
Its capacity to support emerging fund managers and channel investments into underserved markets is expected to have a multiplier effect across the SME sector, linking gender equality with macroeconomic transformation.
