IFC’s Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa Announces Projects to Support MSMEs

IFC today announced four new projects to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Africa and globally. The projects will help businesses address food insecurity across the continent and trade financing gaps and will support increased agricultural productivity and efficiency.

Announced at an event held by the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa on the sidelines of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France, the projects underscore IFC’s commitment to supporting smaller businesses, job creation, and private sector development. 

The new projects announced by IFC include:

The MSME Finance Program: This multi-year initiative will provide up to $5 billion in financing to create increased capital and to mobilize financial markets as greater sources of development finance globally. Specifically, the program will increase lending to women entrepreneurs, MSMEs contributing to food security, first-time MSME borrowers and MSMEs in vulnerable regions affected by climate change. It will support MSMEs in fragile and conflict-affected situations as well as those in Middle-Income Countries (MICs). Through the program, IFC will earmark $250 million to fund the resilience and protection of MSMEs in small island nations.

The Africa Agriculture Accelerator Program: An estimated 140 million people in Africa face food insecurity and despite an abundance of natural resources and arable land, the continent imports $35 billion in food each year. This Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa initiative will provide financing to agribusiness companies to support their growth and expansion and ultimately foster more local food production and contribute to greater food security. The program will help agribusinesses to access finance, improve productivity, and increase competitiveness in local and international markets. Through the program, IFC will finance up to $1 billon and reach up to one million hectares of land over the next three years.

EBRD Pilot Start-Up Project: Announced in partnership with EBRD, one of the Alliance’s seven core members, the Pilot Start-up Project will facilitate increased capacity building, mentoring, networking, and funding for early-stage enterprises, incubators, accelerators, and seed funds in North Africa.

Risk Distribution Partnership: A joint Alliance initiative between IFC and Proparco, the partnership will help facilitate greater access to sustainable trade finance for emerging African markets and develop deeper intra-Africa trade. In Africa, trade costs can be as high as 300 percent of the value of the merchandise being traded. Through the partnership, Proparco will participate for up to $500 million in IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP).

“We are pleased to announce these new projects as part of our ongoing commitment to support MSMEs, including through the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa. These initiatives will help to increase access to finance, improve productivity, and build resilience for MSMEs, which are critical for economic growth and job creation,” said IFC’s Managing Director Makhtar Diop.

About the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa

The Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa is an international, project-driven platform aimed at boosting the development of private sector participation and entrepreneurship in Africa with the goal of promoting dynamic, competitive, and inclusive economies across the continent. The Alliance supports investments in MSMEs by developing and scaling up instruments that accelerate growth and competitiveness. Alliance core members include the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Treasury, and IFC. Alliance associate members include AfricInvest, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Blue Like an Orange Sustainable Capital, Equity Bank, the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).