July 2025
By Raadhika Sihin, Head of Public Policy, GFTN
Under the banner One Africa, One Market: Driving Innovation, Investment and Impact for a Connected Future, one of the most anticipated panels at the 3i Africa Summit 2025 was Powering Prosperity: Scaling African SMEs through Regional Trade.
I was honoured to moderate the session, attended by Ms. Jacqueline Mpare, Managing Director designate, Pan-African Savings & Loans Limited Company, Ghana, and Mr. Md Aourongjeb, Chief Executive Officer, ASA Savings and Loans. Our discussion promised to bring forward practical, actionable solutions for a challenge we all recognise: how to enable Africa’s SMEs to scale across borders and unlock their full economic potential.
Africa’s SMEs are ready to scale, but are our systems ready for them? Despite contributing massively to jobs and growth, small businesses remain locked out of regional trade opportunities due to a set of well-known but persistent challenges. Financing gaps, fragmented markets, regulatory inconsistencies, and infrastructure weaknesses continue to constrain the full realisation of Africa’s regional trade ambitions. The solutions exist — smarter finance, digital platforms, interoperable payments, and coordinated policies — but unlocking the continent’s full SME potential requires urgent, collective action. This article distils the key imperatives for powering Africa’s next wave of prosperity.
Access to appropriate finance remains one of the most significant barriers for SMEs seeking to expand regionally. Traditional lending products often fail to match the working capital cycles, export risks, and collateral realities of small businesses engaged in cross-border trade. What is needed are tailored financial instruments such as trade finance, supply chain financing, invoice discounting, and risk-sharing facilities that better align with the practical needs of SMEs. Particularly critical is ensuring that financial solutions are inclusive, recognising that women-owned SMEs often face additional barriers in accessing trade-related finance.
Beyond finance, physical and digital market access pose equally significant challenges. Despite the establishment of continental frameworks for free trade, intra-African trade remains low relative to its potential. Complex customs procedures, incompatible payment systems, and lack of access to real-time trade information contribute to high transaction costs and limited visibility into regional opportunities for SMEs.
However, promising innovations are emerging. The expansion of digital platforms and agency banking models have made financial services more accessible, particularly in underserved and remote areas. These models leverage local networks and mobile technology to bring essential services closer to entrepreneurs, while also offering platforms for cross-border transactions and market linkages.
Digital payment infrastructure is playing a particularly transformative role. Real-time cross-border payment systems are being developed to reduce trade friction, increase transparency, and streamline compliance. Such innovations have the potential to enable SMEs to transact seamlessly across markets, enhancing their competitiveness and market reach.
A consistent theme is the need for stronger regulatory harmonisation and policy coordination. While continental trade agreements provide a strategic vision, practical implementation remains uneven across jurisdictions. Efforts to establish digital single windows, shared regulatory standards, and interoperable payment systems will be critical to lowering compliance burdens for SMEs and making regional trade more efficient.
Underlying all these discussions is the recognition that no single actor can address these challenges alone. Public-private partnerships, blended finance arrangements, cross-border cooperation, and coordinated investments in digital and physical infrastructure are essential. Building SME resilience is not simply about removing obstacles but about actively fostering the systems, platforms, and policies that allow small businesses to thrive regionally.
A Collective Call to Action
we converged on a central truth: scaling African SMEs is not simply about removing obstacles but about actively creating resilience — through innovation, cooperation, and bold policy reforms. Indeed, real success demands deeper public-private partnerships, long-term investments in digital infrastructure, and a shared political will to break down remaining regulatory silos.
The message is clear: Africa’s SMEs are dynamic, resourceful, and ready to scale. Unlocking their potential requires not only innovative financing and digital solutions but also collective leadership and sustained policy reform across the continent.
To continue the conversation, the 2025 Global SME Finance Forum will take place this September in Johannesburg, South Africa. As an official side event of the G20 South Africa Presidency, the Forum will convene a diverse and influential network of policymakers, development finance institutions, commercial banks and fintech innovators. Together, they will focus on advancing practical, scalable solutions that build MSME resilience and unlock inclusive economic growth.
Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s dynamic role as a regional financial and innovation hub, the Forum will feature high-impact dialogues, real-world case studies, and strategic networking designed to foster cross-sector collaboration.
Expect fresh perspectives, actionable insights, and new partnerships to accelerate the future of SME finance on a global scale. Find out more here.