Why African SMEs Stay Underserved | Ethiopis Tafara

About this episode

The episode discusses the financing challenges faced by African SMEs and the impact on entrepreneurship in the region.

Africa does not have a shortage of entrepreneurs. It has a financing problem.In this episode of Financially Incorrect, we sit down with Ethiopis Tafara, Regional Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to unpack one of the biggest economic bottlenecks across the continent: why millions of African businesses remain stuck despite creating the majority of jobs.SMEs account for nearly 80–90% of jobs globally, yet only 25% of African SMEs have access to formal financing. Ethiopis explains the “missing middle” crisis, the dangerous impact of foreign exchange debt on local businesses, and why access to local currency financing could completely reshape entrepreneurship across Africa.We also discuss the IFC’s new $300 million partnership with BOAD, how the M300 initiative plans to electrify 300 million Africans by 2030, why tourism remains Africa’s most underrated economic opportunity, and the uncomfortable realities governments must address if they want businesses to scale sustainably.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access all our links in one place…

People in this episode

Guest: Ethiopis Tafara

Topics covered

• African SMEs
• financing problem
• entrepreneurship
• economic bottlenecks
• local currency financing
• foreign exchange debt
• tourism opportunities

Keywords

• African SMEs
• financing
• entrepreneurship
• economic growth
• local currency
• foreign exchange
• IFC
• BOAD
• tourism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Finance Corporation, BOAD, IFC

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