13/08/2026
PARTNER REMARKS – AfCFTA Young Entrepreneurs Federation (AfYEF)
WiM-Africa – MANSA Digital Awareness Webinar Series
Webinar 1: Introduction to the MANSA Digital Platform
11 August 2026
Distinguished representatives of Afreximbank and the MANSA Digital Initiative, the leadership of Women in Mining Africa, fellow partners, women entrepreneurs, miners, mineral traders, processors, exporters, and participants joining us from across Africa, good afternoon.
On behalf of the AfCFTA Young Entrepreneurs Federation (AfYEF), it is a pleasure to join WiM-Africa and Afreximbank for the commencement of this important continental awareness and capacity-building series.
Our message to the women participating today is simple: Africa’s mineral wealth must increasingly translate into African enterprise, African trade and African prosperity — and women must be deliberately positioned to participate in that transformation.
Across Africa, women are already active throughout the mineral value chain. They are miners, mineral traders, processors, exporters, cooperative leaders, service providers and entrepreneurs. But participation in the sector alone is not enough. If our enterprises are to grow beyond local markets, participate in cross-border trade, establish relationships with credible counterparties and access formal financial systems, they must increasingly become visible, identifiable, transparent and institutionally prepared.
This is why the MANSA Digital Initiative of Afreximbank is particularly relevant.
MANSA provides a centralized due-diligence repository for African entities and seeks to address information asymmetry and the perceived risks associated with doing business with African enterprises. Understanding such systems is therefore important for women-led businesses seeking to position themselves for opportunities within Africa’s evolving trade architecture.
Importantly, today’s webinar is only the beginning.
This programme has been designed as a three-part learning series. We therefore encourage participants not to treat today’s session as a standalone event, but to remain engaged throughout the entire programme.
The first session introduces you to the MANSA Digital Platform — its purpose, features and potential benefits.
The subsequent sessions will deepen that understanding by addressing areas such as Know Your Customer (KYC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), the African Entity Identifier (AEI), business documentation, trade visibility and opportunities emerging under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
By the end of this webinar series, we believe participating enterprises should have achieved something very practical.
They should have a much clearer understanding of what institutional readiness means for an African business.
They should understand the basic documentation and information expected when dealing with formal financial institutions and counterparties.
They should be able to examine their own businesses and identify gaps in areas such as corporate documentation, ownership transparency, governance, KYC/CDD preparedness and general business credibility.
Most importantly, they should leave the programme better informed and better positioned to determine the practical steps required to strengthen their enterprises for trade, investment, financing and cross-border business relationships.
So, as you participate today, ask yourself:
Is my enterprise properly structured?
Can a potential bank, buyer, investor or business partner readily understand who we are, what we do and who owns the business?
Do we have our essential corporate and compliance documentation in place?
Are we preparing only to operate locally, or are we deliberately positioning ourselves for the larger African market?
These questions matter because the AfCFTA is creating a much larger continental marketplace, but the existence of that market does not automatically guarantee that our enterprises will benefit from it.
African enterprises must be prepared to trade.
And women-owned enterprises must be equipped to participate in supply chains, reach new buyers, establish cross-border partnerships, access appropriate financial services and become credible counterparties for businesses within and outside Africa.
AfYEF therefore strongly encourages every participating enterprise to complete all three sessions. Take notes. Ask questions. Engage directly with the MANSA experts. Compare what you learn against the current position of your business and identify what needs to change.
We equally encourage national Women in Mining organizations, WiM-Africa Chapters, cooperatives and enterprise networks represented here to take this knowledge beyond these webinars. The real impact will come when this information reaches women operating businesses in mining communities and mineral value chains across our respective countries.
Our partnership with WiM-Africa reflects a shared conviction that Africa’s women and young entrepreneurs should not merely observe the implementation of the AfCFTA. They should be producing, processing, trading, exporting and creating value within it.
We commend WiM-Africa for creating this structured pathway, and we appreciate Afreximbank and the MANSA team for bringing their technical knowledge directly to African enterprises.
To every woman entrepreneur participating today: do not stop at Webinar 1. Complete the series. Assess your enterprise. Identify your gaps. Strengthen your systems. And use the knowledge gained to position your business for the opportunities ahead.
By the end of this series, our expectation is not simply that more women will have heard about MANSA, but that we will have a community of women-led enterprises that better understand what institutional credibility and trade readiness require and are more capable of taking the next steps themselves.
Africa is building a larger market.
Let us ensure that women-led mining enterprises are prepared to participate, compete and grow within it.
Thank you, and I wish everyone a productive first session and a successful webinar series.
Dr Chananga Bwembya Nkowani
founder/president
Multi-Purpose Women In Mining Association of Zambia.
regional Director -SADC
Afcfta Young Entrepreneurs Federation - Continental Administration
