The MoU outlines a collaborative framework between ImpactHER and the African Union, focusing on strategic initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs across the continent.

This partnership aims to address key challenges faced by African women in business, including access to finance, market linkages and skill development, aligning with the aspirations of Agenda 2063 for a prosperous and gender-equal Africa.

Efe Ukala, Founder, ImpactHER, while expressing enthusiasm about the partnership said:

“This is more than a collaboration; it’s a commitment to the women of Africa. Together with the African Union, we are poised to make significant strides in breaking down barriers that have long hindered women entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential. The partnership will kick-off with a series of joint programs and initiatives aimed at providing African women entrepreneurs with the tools, resources, and support they need to thrive. These initiatives will include targeted training programs, access to finance workshops, and networking events designed to connect women entrepreneurs with potential investors and markets”.

During the MOU signing ceremony, Albert Muchanga, commissioner for Trade and Industry at the African Union, underscored the importance of this partnership.

“Africa is on the rise and its women are the key agents that will drive the next level strategic growth phase. This is why we are passionate that for us to achieve our 2063 agenda, we must tap into the enormous resources that our women possess. African female entrepreneurs are at the heart of this MOU that we have signed. The AU wants to make sure that they are carried along and to achieve this, we will be working with ImpactHER due to its verifiable track record of success African female business owners. We at the African Union are certain that the story of the African women will change with the partnership”, he expressed.

ImpactHER is an impact-driven organization that focuses on bridging the $42 billion financing gap for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

ImpactHER has directly trained and supported over 130,000 African women entrepreneurs, on a pro bono basis, in 53 African countries.

The organization helps African women business owners access institutional capital, scale their businesses, tackle operational challenges, access new markets through technology, and become investor-ready providing them with the digital skills they need to succeed.

The MoU was signed on behalf of the African Union Commission Chairperson by the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs & Social Development (HHS) H.E. Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma and Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director General Dr. Jean Kaseya, and Gavi Chief Executive Officer Dr. Seth Berkley.

The partnership builds on the historic Addis Declaration on Immunization (ADI), which aims to ensure that everyone in Africa – regardless of who they are or where they live – receives the full benefits of immunisation.

It includes 10 commitments to increase political, financial and technical investments in immunisation programs.

The evolving direction of this partnership is bound to accelerate the attainment of health security as premised in the AU Agenda 2063 and the New Public Health Order (NPHO).

Children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Knowing they are prone to preventable life-threatening diseases, we – current leaders – must do all it takes to protect and secure their future.‎‎ I am well-pleased with the growth of the partnership between the AUC and Gavi, which I am certain will accelerate reducing the number of zero-dose children worldwide by 2030,” 

– said H.E. Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development.

In September 2022, the African Union Commission and Africa CDC launched the New Public Health Order, which offers insights and a roadmap towards health security on the continent. The collaboration of the AUC and Gavi will further relate to Africa CDC-led initiatives for vaccine uptake in AU member states, as well as support investments in the goal to locally manufacture 60% of the vaccine doses required on the continent by 2040,” 

– underscored the Director General, Africa CDC, Dr. Jean Kaseya.

 “As an Alliance of governments, partners, civil society, industry and others, Gavi has a longstanding commitment to support access to life-saving vaccines through sustainable immunisation programmes, and to collaborate with countries to strengthen health systems across Africa,” stated the CEO of Gavi, Dr. Seth Berkley, “This MoU is the strengthening of our shared determination to protect more children against vaccine-preventable diseases and to help realise the AU’s vision for sustainable vaccine manufacturing and the New Public Health Order on the continent,” noted the Gavi CEO Dr. Berkley.

Through this MoU, AUC and Gavi commit to work together to:

1. Scale up and strengthen routine immunisation, focusing on reaching “zero dose” children – children that have not received a single dose of a routine vaccine;
2. Build sustainable regional vaccine manufacturing in Africa;
3. Undertake joint advocacy to boost vaccine demand for routine vaccines;
4. Strengthen primary health care systems and bolster diagnostic and surveillance capacity for diseases such as yellow fever, cholera, and typhoid;
5. Communicate jointly on routine immunisation, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR), vaccine access and delivery;

The AUC and Africa CDC, in April 2021, established the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) to steer a bold goal that will enable the African vaccine manufacturing industry to develop, produce, and sustainably increase supply, from less than 1 percent, currently.

This goal can be reached through achieving sustainable and reliable economies of scale by launching mechanisms that create demand certainty for manufacturers while facilitating country procurement.

The AU Bureau of Heads of State and Government further requested Gavi and other partners to procure a percentage of all vaccines produced by the continent.

In December 2022, the Gavi Board approved a plan to support the development of a regionally diversified vaccine manufacturing ecosystem, based on three pillars: support for strategic antigen selection by manufacturers/countries, market shaping and demand creation.

The initiative, supported by the African Union, Africa CDC, G7 and other stakeholders, also envisages the possibility of a fourth pillar, the design of a new financial instrument in the form of an Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for African vaccine manufacturing.

The global COVID-19 pandemic and climate change impact have jeopardised the health, security, and livelihoods of people across Africa and impeded the progress made over the years in reaching over 400 million children with vaccines; and averting more than 9.9 million future deaths on the continent.

The major focus of this new agreement is forging new and strengthened partnerships to reach the millions of “zero-dose” children, particularly in marginalised settings, that still lack access to vaccines and other essential services in addition to providing a concrete framework for the AUC and Gavi to jointly address these challenges, identify gaps and monitor progress to achieve universal access to immunisation and drive positive impacts on the continent.