African Small Business Catalyst Initative Emerges to Help Small Businesses in Africa Scale Faster

The African Small Business Catalyst (ASBC), a business accelerator for early growth-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been launched by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US African Development Foundation (USADF).

The ASBC seeks to assist SMEs in four countries: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda, with a focus on agriculture and food security, education, healthcare, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

The initiative will provide loans ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, as well as technical assistance and grants of up to $100,000. Clients will benefit from grants, mentoring, training, and technical assistance to help them develop their business models, improve their management skills, expand their market reach, and deepen their impact among underserved populations.

“The African Small Business Catalyst is a historic US government collaboration that brings together DFC and USADF’s unique and complementary investment tools to boost private sector-led development in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said DFC CEO Scott Nathan. “By partnering with the USADF, DFC will be able to reach smaller companies earlier in the development process, accelerating development in industries critical to Africa’s overall economic growth.”

Travis Adkins, President and CEO of the USADF, stated that his organization has a growing list of partners, including the DFC, who are expanding its resources and results in strengthening African SMEs and improving the availability and affordability of the financing they need to scale and make a greater impact in their communities.

“We’re excited to serve as the DFC’s preferred partner on the African Small Business Catalyst and to employ USADF’s tried and tested model of localised, African-led development that grows incomes, employment opportunities, and African SMEs into future trading partners for the US and engines of economic growth for their countries,” he said.

Interested and qualified businesses are encouraged to apply by April 15 via the ASBC application portal.