Building Resilience in Emerging Market Economies By Supporting Small Businesses

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Small businesses create up to 80% of jobs and generate up to 70% of GDP in Africa alone and are essential drivers of growth, employment and livelihoods in emerging markets.

In emerging market economies, however, there are intractable structural barriers to raising finance that most of these businesses face. The yawning gap in financing runs into the trillions of dollars.

Organizations can work collectively to move money at scale if the motivation is strong enough. It makes economic sense for governments and private markets to do just that in order to build resilient economies.

Experience in Africa shows that digitally-based information and services can be effective tools for empowering farmers and local businesses.