Loans on Honor: a Comprehensive Mechanism to Foster Development by Supporting MSMEs

In ACP countries, a large number of companies, and especially the smallest and the youngest, are struggling to find the financing they need to grow, despite a general awareness of their crucial role in job creation and economic development. In recent years, solutions have emerged by combining both support and financing. The Prêts d’honneurs/Loan on Honour mechanism is one of these solutions that has gradually developed in Africa, in particular through decentralized cooperation projects.

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Upcoming events

By supporting business climate and investment environment reforms, the ICR Facility aims to help generate more decent jobs and contribute to improving livelihoods in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Training on Business Environment Reforms to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment

Women's Economic Empowerment

Training on Busines Environment Reforms to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment Register HERE What? The course develops awareness and provides tools to advance Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) through Business Environment Reform (BER) in African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Participants learn to apply a gender-sensitive and gender-transformative lens when they work on their own reforms, taking […]

How to develop a gender approach in Development Finance Institutions

Access to Finance

What? In these free, self-paced training modules you will learn how to develop a gender finance approach in the development finance institution. It is an interactive way to learn more about institutional gender mainstreaming, actions and measures to be taken in the organisation to ensure gender inclusion. The training contains videos, texts, interactive exercises and […]

Training on Business Environment Reforms Tools

Business Regulation and Policy

In these self-paced modules in “Business Environment Reform Tools”, representatives from public and private stakeholders in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries will learn how to use practical and straight-forward tools to improve the business environment in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. You will earn a PDF certificate once you pass all the tasks of the four modules. […]

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Access to finance for women-owned and led MSMEs in the Caribbean

Despite their potential to drive economic growth in the Caribbean, women-owned or led micro, small and medium enterprises (WMSMEs) face barriers that create a significant financing gap, hampering their ability to scale and build economic resilience. Similar disparities in access to finance are found globally and are rooted in issues such as traditional banking models, restrictive collateral requirements and […]

Harvesting insights: Empowering women, benefiting economies

At the ICR Facility, women’s economic empowerment (WEE) is a core part of what we do. The following one-pagers summarise our work and key lessons learned in four key areas: Valuing and investing in the care economy Women spend an average of 4.1 hours/day on unpaid care and domestic work, more than twice as […]

Training Kit: Decent Work in the Recycling Sector

This training kit has been designed to support trainers from civil society organisations (CSOs) and local authorities who assist women working in the recycling sector. It aims to provide them with concrete, structured teaching materials to strengthen their capacity to promote decent, safe, and fair work, in line with the commitments of the Regional Charter […]

Flagship Study: Access to Finance for Women-led MSMEs in the Caribbean

The ICR Facility conducted a study for the Caribbean Development Bank to reduce the research gap in the Caribbean MSME sector, enhance the understanding of the needs and opportunities for Women-led MSMEs (WMSMEs) to increase their access to finance and identify measures to unlock investments. Find the summarised findings in this report. Read the […]

You may also be interested in these ICR Stories

From Shore to Ship: Opening Maritime Pathways for Women in the Indian Ocean

In 2020, during consultations organised by Cap Business Océan Indien (CBOI), a regional business association covering six Indian Ocean countries and territories, stakeholders identified maritime connectivity – the extent to which islands and coastal states are linked to each other and to global markets by sea, through reliable routes, seaworthy vessels and efficient ports – […]

Making industry work for women in Côte d’Ivoire

Industry accounts for nearly a quarter of Côte d’Ivoire’s GDP, yet the share of women working in this sector has nearly halved from just over 10% in 2013 to under 6% today. As women made gains in agriculture and services, they were being left behind in a sector that has helped make Côte d’Ivoire one […]

Empowering Women in Trade: Lessons from the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Tanzania

Coordinated institutional support services, tailored skills development, better data and finance with a gender lens can generate stable women exporters Across Africa and the Caribbean, women entrepreneurs are the backbone of many local economies—but too often they are held back by complex regulations, high costs, and fragmented support. Three recent Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility […]

Inclusive investment climate reform: ICR Facility’s work on tackling Gender-Based Violence in investment climate

For weeks, Rose, a trader, avoided crossing the border to the neighboring country to purchase business supplies after experiencing sexual harassment. The incident disrupted her business, caused her to lose regular clients, and reduced her family’s income. For several women in business, concerns about safety extend beyond the market premises or gate. Globally, 1 in […]

You may also be interested in these event recordings

Session 6 of DFI Exchange Group

Join us for the next DFI Exchange Group: Gender Champions Roundtable Series? We are inviting gender officers and gender focal points at DFIs to join us for the Gender Champions Roundtable Series taking place in October. The purpose of these online sessions is to exchange with your peers on the following topics: how to prepare and […]

Session 5 of DFI Exchange Group

Join us for an engaging peer learning experience focused on Alternative (to) Collateral for Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). This DFI Exchange Group provided valuable insights, technical guidance, and real-world examples from DFIs on key aspects of alternative (to) collateral. Date: 2 July 2025 Time: 09:00 EST/ 15:00 CEST/ 14:00 WAT/ 15:00 CAT / 16:00 EAT […]

Toward Fit-for-Purpose DFI Regulation in the SADC Region

Overview – Policy Brief The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) is spotlighting the critical role of National Public Development Banks (NDBs) in mobilizing domestic resources, crowding in private investment, and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The First Draft of the Outcome Document, which outlines a renewed financing framework and emphasizes […]

Webinar: Women’s Economic Empowerment through Reforms: Sharing Lessons Learnt from the ACP Region

Summary Join us to explore lessons learnt regarding how legal and policy reforms can enhance women’s freedoms, unlock greater economic opportunities for them and build stronger and more resilient economies for all. Date: 27 May 2025 Time: 15h30 – 17h00 (CEST) Location: Online Languages: English, French and Spanish through simultaneous interpretation This webinar presented the research […]