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According to the World Bank, African countries are likely to be hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as the limits of societies and economies across the world are being tested. Based on this information, ImpactHER conducted a survey on Sub-Saharan African small and medium sized female-owned business owners to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses and help galvanize resources for them to help cope. We got responses from over 1,300 female entrepreneurs from 30 African countries. The deductions from the survey makes it apparent that the existing $42B financing gap that exists for African female entrepreneurs as estimated by the African Development Bank is likely to worsen, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In response to these findings, ImpactHER co-authored a policy brief with the United Nations Women (UN Women) and African Development Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) on transformative policy solutions to support women-led businesses in Africa. This is as a result of ImpactHER's commitment to helping African women-led businesses thrive post-COVID. The policy brief document is shown below:

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