SMEs employ 80 percent of the African workforce, and nine out of ten new jobs on the continent are created by growing companies. How can African financial sector stakeholders become better at supporting the continental jobs agenda by increasing support for growing small and medium-sized companies, especially those run by women and youth entrepreneurs? What inspiration can we draw from each other?
Key points:
- Building entrepreneurial pathways – how do we create an enabling ecosystem for SMEs that allows for a sustainable expansion of SME finance?
- Next generation credit scoring – what opportunities and risks do AI and alternative data offer for unlocking SME finance in African markets?
- How do we design policy and regulation that supports a range of financing instruments for SMEs, while ensuring financial stability and investor protection?