By Francis H. Murray
The African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has received the sum of USD33 Million to support Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. They announced this in a press release on Thursday.
The organization which focuses on providing financial guarantees for over ten thousand (10,000) SMEs is a Kenyan based NGO which seeks to empower business startups across the continent.
The funding which was received from a German lender KfW Development Bank, is meant to complement AGF’s efforts to strengthen SMEs so that they will be able to perform their key role in society.
‘‘Africa’s leading Guarantee Institution, African Guarantee Fund (AGF) has received an additional USD 33M financing from German lender KfW Development Bank , in a move that will catapult AGF’s efforts to enable African SMEs continue to play their critical role in driving Africa’s economy,” the statement announcing the development said.
This new financing came up as a result of the recognition the continent’s SMEs have received as key drivers of growth in the economic sector.
“This new financing comes at a time when the continent's SME sector has been singled out as a key driver of growth,” the release added, noting: “This now places AGF firmly on the driver’s seat as the champion that eases access to financing for SMEs across the continent.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the group, Felix Bikpo, said that this financial gesture had created over more than 100,000 additional jobs across the continent.
In December last year, the Sierra Leone government announced in its new budget Le100 billion to empower SMEs in the country.
The authorities who will implement that programme might gain a lot by learning from AGF.
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