The problem
Development financing in West Africa faces a significant gap.
Two persistent challenges drive that gap. SAIIF exists to address both of them with focused, innovative finance tools.
Investment mismatch
Investors and investees are unable to use mutually beneficial financing tools to scale businesses. The result is capital that sits idle in one place while real, scalable enterprises remain underfunded elsewhere.
Root causes
- Lack of technical capability and knowledge among both investees and investors
- Weak innovation and investment infrastructure across the region
Gender inequality
Women entrepreneurs are disproportionately excluded from development financing. This is not only a fairness problem; it is an efficiency problem. Excluding half the population from capital is a structural drag on regional growth.
Root causes
- Inconsistent access to and control of capital for women
- Unfocused earmarked development aid that fails to reach women entrepreneurs at scale
Why this matters
These gaps are not theoretical. They are the daily experience of West African entrepreneurs and the funders who want to back them.
Closing the gap is a precondition for everything else we want for the region. SAIIF is built specifically around addressing these two challenges, not around general financial inclusion in the abstract.
See how we are addressing both challenges.
Our three focus areas are designed around these problems, not around our convenience.