-
The Missing Asset Class: How Aggregated MSMEs Could Unlock the Next Wave of Impact Investing Deal Flow
Despite years of emphasizing the need to reach underserved businesses, the impact investing sector is increasingly focusing on lower-risk opportunities. According to Adanna Chukwuma at CARE, mature companies have drawn the largest increases in impact assets over the past six years, while funding to seed-stage enterprises has contracted — despite multiple financial instruments designed to serve the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in this segment. As she explains, this trend excludes a vast band of businesses with real revenue, real demand and real growth potential: aggregated MSMEs, i.e., individual enterprises that have joined together to contract and borrow as one. She explores the investment opportunity in these MSMEs, and calls for the creation of a new asset class around them, explaining how this could unlock the flow of impact capital to enterprises that remain systemically overlooked.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing
-
South Africa’s Unemployment Rises to 8.5 Million as Job Market Weakens
The latest figures were released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the second quarter of 2026, covering labour market conditions between April and June.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- employment, mining, MSMEs, research
-
Nigeria’s Federal Government Targets One Million MSMEs, 50,000 Jobs With Renewable Energy Programme
". . . the minister said the programme would deploy renewable energy solutions to one million businesses, reduce production costs for MSMEs, expand financial inclusion and promote inclusive economic growth."
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
IFC Supports Expansion of Financing for Kenya’s Small Businesses through the First Catalytic First Loss Guarantee Transactions in Africa
The CFLG is an innovative program delivered under IFC's $4 billion MSME Platform, enabling IFC to provide first-loss coverage to partner financial institutions by leveraging blended finance through the International Development Association's Private Sector Window (IDA PSW).
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
The Catch-22 in Global Health Finance: Why Medical Oxygen is the Test Case for Turning Aid into Investment
By most measures, medical oxygen in sub-Saharan Africa isn’t an investable market. As Alex Losneanu and Jason Houdek at Oxygen CoLab explain, providing medical oxygen is capital-intensive and operationally demanding. That means small- and medium-sized oxygen suppliers typically stall out or get absorbed into grant-funded programs instead of becoming commercially viable, and funders conclude that these SMEs are too fragile to justify the investment risk. They argue that this conclusion is wrong, and also self-fulfilling, reinforcing a Catch-22 that exists across global health. They share findings from a supplier mapping project that show how emerging business models are enabling oxygen SMEs to scale, and propose three shifts in how catalytic capital can be designed to support these and other businesses across the global health sector.
- Categories
- Health Care, Investing
-
Standard Bank Lands $327.1 Million African Development Bank Investment for SMEs in South Africa
According to Standard Bank, the 2024 facility had been fully utilised by December 2025, supporting 5,425 SMEs across sectors including agriculture.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
KCB Bank Kenya and European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) Sign US$100 Million Facility to Expand SME Financing
Under the framework, 35 per cent of the facility will be directed towards women and youth-led enterprises, while 30 per cent will finance eligible green investments, enabling businesses to adopt climate-smart technologies and sustainable business practices.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Finance, Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
PolicyStreet Raises US $5 Million to Expand Insurance for Gig Workers and SMEs
BlueOrchard's investment reflects growing interest in businesses that combine commercial growth with measurable social impact, particularly around financial inclusion and access to essential services.
- Categories
- Finance, Investing, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.