Author: Sannesh Beharie

There are approximately 44 million small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, employing around 80% of the workforce on the continent and contributing 60% of the GDP in emerging economies. Yet, during times of crisis, these businesses are often the least resilient due to limited cash reserves, smaller client bases, and less capacity to manage commercial pressures. Technology can be a lifeline for African SMEs, providing opportunities to enhance efficiencies and productivity, access finance and markets and remain relevant in a fast-paced global digital era. Since SMEs already provide the largest proportion of jobs on the continent, digitalising their businesses will unlock the necessary…