Bridging Africa’s SME Financing Gap: Building Investment-Ready Enterprises and Connecting Capital

​Closing Africa’s SME financing gap requires more than increasing the availability of capital. It also requires strengthening the ecosystem that enables enterprises to access, absorb and effectively deploy financing for sustainable growth.

​Drawing on learnings from implementing the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) will share insights into its approach to SME ecosystem development, highlighting the role of business development support, enterprise capacity building and other non-financial interventions in preparing African businesses to become investment-ready and access capital.

​The session will also feature an interactive activation of the Deal Share Platform, developed by the Kuramo Foundation for Sustainable Development (KFSD) and the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), with support from MEDA under the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. The Deal Share Platform is a gender-smart investment marketplace designed to connect capital seekers, investors and ecosystem partners through a shared pipeline of live investment opportunities.

​We will walk you through the platform, demonstrate how a capital seeker can list an investment opportunity, and invite you to engage directly with live deals in small groups. Join us to explore a connected approach to African deal flow, one that makes relevant investment opportunities easier to discover and meaningful connections easier to establish. By the end of the session, you will know how to join the platform, express interest in an opportunity, request an introduction to a capital seeker, or list a deal of your own.

​Together, the discussion and platform activation will explore how stronger enterprise support systems and more connected investment infrastructure can help bridge the gap between available capital and African businesses seeking financing.