Africa’s SME challenges and opportunities are distinct: fragmented markets, high perceived risk, limited risk-sharing mechanisms, uneven access to trade finance, and the persistent exclusion of women-led, youth-owned, and rural enterprises. Addressing these issues requires locally grounded solutions, stronger alignment between public and private actors, and institutions that are equipped to move from pilots to scale.
This roundtable brings together banks, non-bank financial institutions, development finance institutions, policymakers, and trade enablers to examine how Africa’s SME finance ecosystem can evolve from resilience-building to sustainable growth.
The discussion will focus on how skills, digital innovation, and ecosystem coordination can unlock scalable, risk-appropriate financing models for SMEs across sectors and markets.
