SMEs in Africa: Here today, gone tomorrow

September 1th, 2022 – Despite the significance of SMEs to the economy and national development, Africa has a high rate of business failures and short-lived businesses. In Nigeria SMEs account for 48 percent of the national GDP, 96 percent of businesses, and 84 percent of employment in the country, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report.

In contrast, due to the country’s dire economic circumstances, at least 1.9 million SMEs have been lost since 2017, according to the report, yet business closures persist at an alarming rate. Why do so many businesses fail so quickly, be they structured or unstructured? It can be attributed to many challenges, and this is the focus of this piece.

In the context of this article, the word “failure” refers to any kind of closure, including bankruptcy, liquidation, stopping further losses, giving up and starting a new business, and/or closing by choice (like retiring early or shutting down).

More…https://guardian.ng/opinion/smes-in-africa-here-today-gone-tomorrow/

Written by The Guardian