Why African SMEs Stay Underserved | Ethiopis Tafara

Africa does not have a shortage of entrepreneurs. It has a financing problem. In this episode of Financially Incorrect, we sit down with Ethiopis Tafara, Regional Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to unpack one of the biggest economic bottlenecks across the continent: why millions of African businesses remain stuck despite creating the majority of jobs. SMEs account for nearly 80–90% of jobs globally, yet only 25% of African SMEs have access to formal financing. Ethiopis explains the “missing middle” crisis, the dangerous impact of foreign exchange debt on local businesses, and why access to local currency financing could completely reshape entrepreneurship across Africa. We also discuss the IFC’s new $300 million partnership with BOAD, how the M300 initiative plans to electrify 300 million Africans by 2030, why tourism remains Africa’s most underrated economic opportunity, and the uncomfortable realities governments must address if they want businesses to scale sustainably. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Access all our links in one place: ⁠https://lnk.bio/Financially_Inc 💹 Ready to start trading? 🧑‍🏫 Learn how to trade: https://lnk.bio/fxpesa 📲 Open a demo trading account: https://bit.ly/DemoAccountYT 📈 Start live trading: https://bit.ly/LiveAccountYT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Episode Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Africa’s Missing Middle Problem 01:32 The M300 Electrification Initiative 02:01 Breaking Down the $300M IFC-BOAD Deal 04:15 What IFC Looks For Before Investing 06:02 Which Businesses Scale Fastest? 07:30 Why Tourism Is Africa’s Biggest Opportunity 08:34 Why SMEs Struggle to Access Credit 09:48 How Africa Can Solve the Financing Gap 11:10 What Defines a Missing Middle Business 12:13 Youth Employment and Business Growth 13:09 What Governments Must Fix First 14:45 Vested Interests Blocking Progress 18:21 IFC’s Biggest Infrastructure Projects 20:03 The Most Important Money Lesson