The state of the agri-SME sector – Bridging the finance gap

The last decade has seen increasing recognition by policymakers, capital providers, and finance practitioners of the vital role played by agricultural small- and medium-sized enterprises (agri-SMEs) in agriculture and food systems in developing countries, as well as their key challenge of limited access to finance.

In sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, there is an estimated USD 160 billion demand for financing by ~220,000 agri-SMEs. However, we estimate that only USD 54 billion (~34%) is currently being met through formal finance channels—leaving an annual financing gap of USD 106 billion.

These headline estimates are large, but reflect in numbers what most practitioners have experienced through working with agri-SMEs. Digging beyond numbers, our new State of the Sector report with CASA introduces a more specific view of where the market for agri-SME finance is (and isn’t) clearing.

To add new perspective, this report breaks down the market in a more comprehensive and holistic way to show where finance is specifically flowing, via specific types of products from specific types of funders to specific types of agri-SMEs. The report also presents four long-term change priorities that we see as crucial to systematically closing the USD 106 billion agri-SME financing gap over time.