Private Sector & Development magazine articles

Despite signs of progress, SSA is still lagging compared to other regions when it comes to scaling up the volume of loans allocated to the private sector. If it is to catch up, some progress needs to be made in areas such as information dissemination, the appropriateness of bank products, the regulatory environment and loan securitization. The last aspect is essential for SME lending activities, as the latter generally cannot provide sound guarantees.

African banks had just started to show interest in SMEs when the global crisis reversed the tide. The risk for SMEs is that they will suddenly be barred  access to credit whereas they need long-term financing more than ever before and Africa's financial systems are unable to meet this demand. This situation  will only improve if there is a better dissemination of information on SSA's markets that would make it easier for investors to identify high-quality SMEs.