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Washington D.C– The Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa (AforE), an international, project-driven platform aimed at boosting private sector participation and entrepreneurship in Africa has joined the SME Finance Forum as the global membership network’s latest affiliate. The 300+ members/affiliates of the Forum are SME financing experts operating in 190 countries who share the common goal of expanding access to finance to small businesses worldwide through knowledge exchange and innovation.
“SME Finance Forum proudly welcomes the international, project-driven platform. It is with great pleasure I welcome the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa to SME Finance Forum, AforE’s commitment to boosting private sector participation and entrepreneurship in Africa perfectly aligns with the forum’s mission,” said Qamar Saleem, Head of SME Finance Forum.
The Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa (AforE) is an international, project-driven platform aimed at boosting 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 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by developing and scaling up instruments that accelerate growth and competitiveness. AforE helps to bridge the prevalent funding gap for MSMEs, providing them with the necessary capital through platform projects to expand their businesses. The Alliance projects seek to foster growth throughout the MSME value chain through innovative projects and developing growth instruments unique to the needs of Africa's MSMEs.
“The SMEFF and AforE have aligned goals and mandates, allowing them to generate synergies to address challenges in promoting entrepreneurship throughout the African continent. By joining forces, we want to tackle these challenges including access to finance, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure shortcomings, skills and capacity development gaps, and market accessibility“ said Mr. Ethiopis Tafara, the Alliance's secretariat and IFC's Vice President for Africa.
SME Finance Forum: Innovation & Partnership for MSMEs Growth
The SME Finance Forum, backed by G20 and IFC/World Bank, is the leading global network of 300+ members/affiliates operating in 190 countries. Network comprises of SME focused institutions providing and enabling finance and services- banks, non-banks financial institutions, fintech, payment platforms, development institutions, credit guarantee companies, insurers, investment funds, supply chain linked players, banking and SME associations, policy advocates, regulators, academia, consulting houses, knowledge aggregators.
Our members, affiliates, and associated stakeholders benefit from learning/replicating best practices from across the world, innovating new products for business growth, acquiring risk mitigation tools, establishing partnerships, attracting investors, and being recognized amongst a peer group of global innovators. Our products consist of “members only” solutions (like innovation hubs, solutions clinics, peer group networks, study tours, specialized tools and trainings, member portal repository, partnered initiatives) as well as public good services (200+ publications library, 500+ videos, webinars, newsletters, trainings, annual awards, annual event etc.)
Discover the SME Finance Forum members/affiliates:
https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list
https://smefinanceforum.org/about/partners
Announced at the Summit on the Financing of African Economies (SFAE) in Paris on May 18, 2021, the Alliance for Entrepreneurship in Africa has been actively mobilizing partners to provide financial and technical resources to bolster the growth of Africa's private sector. The initiative is sponsored by the French Treasury, who appointed IFC as its Secretariat, in addition to its role as core member of the initiative. Officially launched on March 22, 2022 in Dakar, the core members solidified their commitment by signing a Working Arrangement, which was subsequently extended by two years in May 2024. This initiative, strengthened by dynamic new associates members like the SME Finance Forum, focuses on MSMEs and aims to amplify entrepreneurship, particularly in businesses owned by women and youth in the African continent. By the end of 2024 the SMEFF joined the AforE as associate member and now, simultaneously, the AforE is becoming a member of the SMEFF global network. The SMEFF and AforE are already exploring ways to collaborate further in addressing the SME financing gap and increasing their concrete cooperation notably around data-driven partnership using an AforE-funded analytical tool and for joint engagement on respective activities or events.
Learn more:
Website: https://alliance4e.org/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aforea/
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