WIC Capital: Helping women-led businesses thrive in West Africa

This case study describes the impact of a $1 million investment from the FSDAi Nyala Facility into WIC Capital, the first investment fund in Francophone West Africa dedicated to women-led businesses. The fund provides both capital and technical assistance to help female entrepreneurs overcome barriers to formal finance, specifically in Senegal.

• In Senegal, women lead over 20% of small businesses, which is 30% above the global average, yet only 3.5% of women entrepreneurs in the country have access to formal finance.
• The FSDAi Nyala Facility provided a $1 million investment to WIC Capital in 2023, which allowed the fund to expand its scope from supporting only businesses under five years old to supporting high-potential SMEs of any age. This investment also helped WIC Capital attract additional funding from the Dutch government.
• WIC Capital combines financial support, such as a USD 200,000 investment for supported SMEs, with non-financial technical assistance including mentoring and training in leadership, accounting, and marketing. For example, the bakery Mburu in Senegal grew its annual revenue tenfold and increased its staff from 15 to 50 employees (70% women) following this support.

APA

FSD Africa (2025). WIC Capital: Helping women-led businesses thrive in West Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/impact-stories/wic-capital-helping-women-led-businesses-thrive-in-west-africa/

Chicago

FSD Africa. WIC Capital: Helping women-led businesses thrive in West Africa. 2025. https://fsdafrica.org/impact-stories/wic-capital-helping-women-led-businesses-thrive-in-west-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=WIC Capital: Helping women-led businesses thrive in West Africa |date=30 October 2025 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/impact-stories/wic-capital-helping-women-led-businesses-thrive-in-west-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2025wic, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{WIC Capital: Helping women-led businesses thrive in West Africa}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/impact-stories/wic-capital-helping-women-led-businesses-thrive-in-west-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }