In April, we were delighted to be invited back to work with Invest in Africa (IIA) following our initial efforts to help capture the challenges SMEs faced when working with large corporations in Ghana in this report: David & Goliath: Creating a level playing fled for SMEs. In the intervening time, IIA has grown from an initiative with offices in London and Ghana to become pan-African with a presence in Kenya, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique and Zambia.
The idea for Invest in Africa grew out of the desire of a multinational corporation to use its buying power as a force for good. Despite the positive economic impact and jobs it creates, IIA is a private sector-led initiative focused on growing local businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, albeit with a mix of donors, many in the development finance sector.
Our brief includes supporting the rollout of IIA’s Covid-19 SME toolkit and advising on some new research that will be useful for stakeholders, but we’re keeping the precise details under wraps until we are ready for the big reveal. Needless to say, it’s going to focus on supply chains and positive purchasing power.
