On 21^st June, The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), the U.S. Mission to the African Union, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), announced their collaboration on the “100,000 MSMEs Initiative for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises. The announcement was made on the margins of the 1^st Anniversary of the MSMEs Initiative celebrations.

This Initiative contributes to the “1 Million Jobs Initiative” of the African Union (AU) and aims to reach 100,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the continent by the end of 2021, and 1 million MSMEs by the end of 2024. This AUDA-NEPAD-led initiative is joined by strategic resource partners, Ecobank, McKinsey & Company, The World Bank Group, Microsoft, and UNDP, among others, and seeks to support MSMEs across the continent with access to finance, capacity building, networking and mentoring, introduction to new markets and procurement opportunities.

In 2021, the DFC plans to engage with select local banking groups in Africa to provide guaranties and/or loans in support of access to finance for MSMEs, and help connect these banking groups to AUDA-NEPAD’s platform and support services.

AUDA-NEPAD collaboration with DFC, along with the support of USAID and the U.S. Mission to the African Union builds on existing U.S. Government efforts to increase investments that strengthen economic growth, technology, energy independence, and infrastructure in Africa.