Insight into SME environment in three West African countries

The Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal markets typically display strong economic growth and good macroeconomic stability, with their small and medium enterprises (SME) environments a key part of this.

The objective of the study was to perform an assessment of their micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sectors and research the specific financial needs of MSMEs to understand the external environment of these countries regarding the refinement of their SME business strategy. The findings were used to inform a prominent West African banks’ SME strategy and customer value proposition development.

This was done to inform the design of the banking group’s specific MSME customer value proposition for each market as well as the group as a whole. The assessment of the MSME sector involved sizing the markets, conducting assessments of the level of financial inclusion, mapping key institutions that serve MSMEs in these markets, measuring estimated demand for MSME products and services, as well as surfacing the challenges in financial services provision.

The research uncovered value chains and sectors that display high growth in the MSME environment.