Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) drive Africa’s economic growth, job creation, and innovation. Yet many lack access to the data and tools needed to scale sustainably, navigate value chains, or secure financing. This priority area focuses on empowering African SMEs with actionable insights to make informed decisions—while improving the quality of data available to policymakers and investors.

Our Goal
We enable SMEs to harness data for growth, sustainability, and access to opportunities—from green finance to new markets. At the same time, we generate better knowledge on SME ecosystems to inform policies and investment strategies that support their development.

Our Approach
Working with local partners, we design and test practical data solutions tailored to SME needs. In Zambia, we are piloting the SME Data Boost, a program that combines:

Open data dashboards to improve visibility of SME activity

Sector-specific training on using data for business decisions

Alignment with global standards like CSRD and ACT to prepare SMEs for sustainable finance

Key partners like BongoHive, IGC Zambia, and Tandem Circular co-design these interventions, ensuring they meet real market needs.