Browsing: Micro-Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

The African Union (AU) announced its plan to put in place a guarantee scheme for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) to speed up the economic transformation of the continent.

The director in charge of delivery program and coordination at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Amine Idriss Adoume said that lack of affordable finance is one of the biggest impediments for the expansion of small businesses in Africa.

Speaking during the launch of the Pan-African MSME Academy for Kenya, Mr. Adoume said: “The scheme will be developed jointly with partners and seeks to unlock access to affordable finance for the continent’s small businesses.”

The Pan-African MSME academy plans to launch across Africa with specific content for each country in line with local business environments.

According to Mr Adoume, the academy has been positioned to enable small entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable growth as they emerge through the COVID-19 pandemic.…

4G Capital announced the completion of its second round of fundraising. The funding was secured by a $2 million debt from Ceniarth LLC, making the total raised to $4 million.

The company will use the investment for lending to its growing customer base of informal MSMEs across Uganda and Kenya.

Since the company was starred in 2013, 4G Capital has grown exponentially, lending over750, 000 loans valued at $90 million. In 2019, the company’s revenue increased by 97 per cent as 4G Capital supported over 60,000 MSMEs.

By the end of 2020, 4G Capital will have lent $43.6 million surpassing all expectations. Without refinancing, repayment rates remain above national averages at over 94 per cent.

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“The rapid expansion of mobile and technology-based financial services in emerging markets has the potential to provide critical capital to individuals previously excluded from …

The African Development Bank urged development finance institutions, NGOs, farmer cooperatives and the private sector to come up with more effective financing solutions for Africa’s fertilizer value chains.

The Bank’s call came during the Argus Africa Fertilizer Conference held last week. The theme of the conference was Supporting the fertilizer value chain to improve agricultural productivity and economic growth in the region.

“Appropriate investment and financing of the entire fertilizer value chain has become a precondition for achieving our continental objectives in the area of agricultural development,” said Marie-Claire Kalihangabo, coordinator of the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism(AFFM), during a forum on the sidelines of the Conference.

AFFM is a Fund managed by the African Development Bank to accelerate agriculture development in line with the Bank’s High-5 priority, the Sustainable Development Goals, Africa Food Security Vision and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

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