Africa MSME Finance Program
The Opportunity
The Africa MSME Finance Program is an institution-building initiative designed to speed up the transfer of know-how to banks serving micro, small, and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa.
The goal is to raise the standards of financial services provided to micro-entrepreneurs and smaller businesses and to put loans, trade financing, mortgage financing, and other products in reach of Africans who have little or no access to finance.
Through a combination of intensive on-site technical assistance, led by resident advisors in each bank, and IFC investment, the program aims for high impact within three years.
The Platform
The Africa MSME Finance Program builds on existing strengths including:
- IFC expertise and a network of regional offices and the Johannesburg hub.
- The regional networks and know-how of MSME finance advisory firms.
- Existing IFC clients (financial institutions and small and medium enterprises) and SME sector contacts.
It also draws on lessons from IFC's experience including the
IDA-IFC initiative and models used by other international financial institutions to accelerate MSME lending in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Implementation
The program is designed to scale up and build out with market demand. It is structured in
three phases.
Consultants in the Program
For more information, please write to
africamsme@ifc.org.
