Because African countries face some of the most severe poverty and underdevelopment, and because 39 of those countries are the IDA's poorest member states, the association allocates approximately half of the IDA's resources toward financing projects in those countries. As a result of its efforts to improve the region, the IDA has helped bring electricity to an additional 66 million Africans since 1997, helped build or restore 240,000 kilometers of paved roads, and helped enroll an additional 15 million African children in school since 2002. The IDA was approved in May 2012 to provide US$50 million worth of credit to the Women Entrepreneur Development Project as part of an effort to help women in Ethiopia participate in business as skilled employees or leaders. Although the positive outcomes of the IDA's efforts in Africa had been historically slow, the large allocation of funding to African countries led to positive outcomes particularly within agriculture and infrastructure development efforts.
