IIGh, Ashesi University provide insights to increase financing of SMEs with new report on Catalytic Capital Investments

Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) and Ashesi University have launched a comprehensive report on Catalytic Capital and its role in increasing financing for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as part of their commitment to promoting sustainable development and increasing appropriate patient capital for SMEs to transform Ghana’s economy.

The research funded by the Catalytic Capital Consortium offers a broad overview of the landscape for SME financing from 2004 to 2021 and provides insights and guidance for both current and prospective impact-oriented institutions and practitioners working in a developing economy like Ghana.

The report identified $ 989 million in catalytic financing deployed in Ghana between 2004 and 2021 in SMEs and analyzed these to provide a framework to accelerate the mobilization of catalytic capital to fill the $ 4.8 billion financing gap that SMEs in Ghana face.

Support for efforts in Ghana to increase the supply of catalytic capital including supporting innovative financing vehicles designed to deliver appropriate finance for SMEs, action by philanthropic foundations to include catalytic capital in their program activities, by private sector actors to partner with catalytic capital providers, and by the government to disburse funding in ways that are catalytic, transparent and unlock additional third-party investments.

A commensurate increase in funding for technical assistance and transaction advisory work, including increasing the number of capital-raise service providers and strengthening the quality of enterprise support to increase the demand for catalytic capital and the effectiveness of SMEs.

Impact Investing Ghana and its partners will be advocating for the implementation of the recommendations from the report and coordinating collaborative action to unlock financing for SMEs.

To find out more about how you can support action to increase catalytic capital and appropriate financing for SMEs email [email protected]