Creating More and Better Jobs for Women
The World Bank Group Guarantee Platform is supporting private sector initiatives to create equitable job opportunities for women across various sectors in member countries.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, MIGA's engagement with Kasada has led to commitments on increased female representation at the managerial level. As the hospitality sector often faces significant gaps in women in management, this commitment represents a push to support better jobs by engaging more women leaders.
MIGA-supported projects in Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Türkiye are creating better jobs for women.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which houses the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, is at the forefront of supporting the private sector in creating better jobs for women across diverse sectors. From the redevelopment of hotels in Africa to decarbonization projects in Nigeria to financial initiatives in Türkiye, our comprehensive approach is creating better jobs for women and fostering inclusive growth.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Addressing employment gaps in the hospitality sector
MIGA signed a guarantee in 2021 with Mauritius-based Kasada Hospitality Fund L.P. — a private equity fund dedicated to the hospitality sector — to redevelop and construct hotels in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The projects under the master contract, involving seven countries, 14 guarantees, and 17 hotel projects with about 2,900 hotel rooms, were completed in just three years. MIGA and the International Finance Corporation collaborated on several of these projects.
Through its projects, Kasada is generating better jobs for women in Côte d'Ivoire and Rwanda. In these two countries, the company has agreed on an action plan to increase women’s leadership participation in management and provide training.
The hospitality sector in Africa faces a significant gender gap in employment, with women mostly involved in entry-level roles but underrepresented in leadership. This project aims to increase the number of women in leadership positions. To achieve this, Kasada is conducting training on gender and inclusion for all management and staff, and it has set a target to achieve 50 percent female representation at the managerial level.
Kasada’s commitment to filling the gender parity gap in recruitment extends beyond management to all personnel. Through training and development, the company is ensuring that women are not just employed but are also given the tools and opportunities to ascend the corporate ladder. As of December 2024, women make up 36% of the workforce in MIGA-supported projects by Kasada.
Nigeria: Project aimed at reducing employment disparities
MIGA issued a guarantee of $16 million to Konexa Power Holdings PCC of Mauritius for its investments in Konexa Solar 1 Ltd. in Nigeria in 2024. The company is supporting the decarbonization of industrial customers with highly reliable renewable energy sources.
Konexa, in collaboration with MIGA, is implementing an action plan to narrow the employment and leadership gaps within its organization, developing a strategy to attract, retain, and promote women and increase the share of women in senior management. The company agreed to focus on women as employees and leaders, allowing them to benefit from direct employment and leadership opportunities.
Türkiye: Commitment to increase share of women employment
In Türkiye, MIGA’s 2024 trade finance guarantee to Turk Eximbank is another project focusing on job creation for women. Turk Eximbank committed to directing $52.3 million, about 15 percent of the overall proceeds supported by the MIGA guarantee, toward women-inclusive firms— owned by women, managed by women, or with an increased share of women’s employment.
By providing access to financial services, the bank has facilitated job creation in firms that include women, which benefited from the loan. Additionally, Turk Eximbank is providing online training to its employees on women and finance, with a special emphasis on commercial banking and trade finance. This educational component is an effort to ensure that the benefits of the project are sustainable and far-reaching, empowering women to take on leadership roles within the industry.
The Way Forward
These projects in Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Türkiye exemplify the transformative power of WBG guarantees aimed at job creation for women. By setting attainable targets for women’s leadership, providing comprehensive training, and ensuring financial support for women-inclusive firms, these projects are paving the way for a more equitable future.
"Our commitment to gender equality is a key driver of sustainable development," said Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of MIGA. "By empowering women through targeted training, financial support, and leadership opportunities, we are helping create inclusive growth that benefits entire communities."
“Our projects have shown that when we identify and address root causes of women’s unemployment, we can support projects by the private sector to advance socio economic opportunities,” said Atia Byll-Cataria, Head of Gender at MIGA. She stressed that sustainable and well-paying jobs with pathways for leadership opportunities have enormous potential to lift women out of poverty and support economic growth.
The private sector companies that MIGA works with have shown that the sector plays a critical role in supporting women with the tools, training, capital, and opportunities necessary to successfully lead on transformative activities. They also demonstrate that engaging women makes good business sense and offers valuable lessons and inspiration for other private sector companies interested in supporting women’s employment and economic empowerment.
The WBG Guarantee Platform, which aims to boost its annual guarantee to $20 billion by 2030, is supporting the private sector in developing countries to mobilize women while promoting sustainable development and economic prosperity.