The Group Chief Economist, Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr Yemi Kale, has decried that despite micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) constituting over 95 per cent of African businesses, they remain in the shadows of formal finance with a staggering $330 billion funding gap.

In his keynote at the G-20 SME Finance Forum 2025 in Johannesburg, he called for a bold re-imagining of global MSME finance and urged policymakers, financiers and entrepreneurs to build a financial architecture that is inclusive, resilient and fit for Africa’s 21st century.

He listed the obstacles to include information opacity, collateral dependency, policy incoherence, high cost of capital, weak digital infrastructure and entrepreneurial skills gap, which continue to limit MSME growth and competitiveness.

Noting that Afreximbank is acting as an ecosystem builder, he said, it is providing tailored trade and project finance, equity and venture support through FEDA, trade facilitation infrastructure, entrepreneurship and compliance training and targeted instruments for women and youth-led SMEs.