New Faces New Voices is a Pan-African advocacy group that focuses on expanding the role and influence of women in the financial sector. They believe that women have the potential to deliver a significant contribution to economic growth in Africa. To this end, they engage with decision-makers at national, regional, continental and global levels to better harness women’s economic potential. The research shows that if the financial and business sectors become more inclusive to women, the result will be a large-scale and fundamental shift in the business and financial landscape across Africa.

OBJECTIVES

- Increasing women’s access to finance and financial services,

- Strengthening the skills and capacity of women, as entrepreneurs, consumers, and investors to access finance,

- Growing the number and visibility of African women in leadership and decision-making positions in the financial sector.

HOW THEY WORK

They advocate for investing differently in women to ensure that they take centre-stage in the financial sector. To this end, they:

- Engage with financial institutions, regulators and policy makers to remove obstacles that impede women’s economic advancement and financial inclusion

- Conduct research and disseminate knowledge on women’s financial inclusion, entrepreneurial development and economic contribution to African economies

- Convene meetings, conferences, round-table discussions, working groups and dialogues with key stakeholders in the financial sector to advance women’s economic opportunities

- Identify innovative financing models and vehicles to put more capital into the hands of women

- Promote women’s leadership and influence in strengthening financial systems at national, regional, continental and global levels