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Working Paper 146 - Bank Financing to Small and Medium Enterprises in East Africa: Findings of a Survey in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia

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This paper describes the main findings of a survey of SME financing in four East African countries, namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. We find that the SME segment is a strategic priority for the banks in the region. SMEs are considered a profitable business prospect and provide an important opportunity for cross-selling. Banks consider that the SME lending market is large, not saturated and with a very positive outlook. A number of obstacles are, however, constraining banks’ further engagement with the SME segment, including SME-related factors, macroeconomic factors, business regulation, the legal and contractual environment, the lack of a more proactive government attitude towards the segment, some areas of prudential regulation and some bank-specific factors. Nonetheless, banks have adapted to their environment and developed mechanisms to cope with it through innovation and differentiation. We conclude that this trend should be supported and encouraged through reforms to soften the negative impact of those obstacles which are hindering the further involvement of banks with SMEs.

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  • Pietro Calice & Victor M. Chando & Sofiane M. Sekioua, 2012. "Working Paper 146 - Bank Financing to Small and Medium Enterprises in East Africa: Findings of a Survey in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia," Working Paper Series 377, African Development Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:adb:adbwps:377
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben Amoako-Adu & Joseph Eshun, 2018. "SME Financing in Africa: Collateral Lending vs Cash Flow Lending," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 10(6), pages 151-159, June.
    2. Hansen, Kory & Kim, Jin Ju & Suffian, Stephen & Mehta, Khanjan, 2015. "Leveraging informal lending mechanisms to facilitate technology transfer and microenterprise in developing countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 65-75.
    3. Pelletier, Adeline, 2018. "Performance of foreign banks in developing countries: Evidence from sub-Saharan African banking markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 292-311.
    4. Florence Ngúni Mumba & Dr Mike Goma & Prof. Mpundu Mubanga, 2022. "Evaluating factors that affect Corporate Social Responsibility participation in selected Small and Medium Enterprises in Zambia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(10), pages 566-576, October.
    5. Ramcharran, Harri, 2017. "Bank lending to small business in India: Analyzing productivity and efficiency," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 16-24.
    6. van der Ven Colette M.A., 2018. "Inclusive Industrialization: The Interplay Between Investment Incentives and SME Promotion Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 11(2), pages 557-587, December.
    7. Damaris W. Muhika & Agnes W. Njeru & Esther Waiganjo, 2017. "Influence of Financial Reporting Requirement on Formalizing Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(7), pages 83-100, July.
    8. Haselip, James & Desgain, Denis & Mackenzie, Gordon, 2014. "Financing energy SMEs in Ghana and Senegal: Outcomes, barriers and prospects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 369-376.
    9. Poole, David L., 2018. "Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship and SMEs in developing economies: How subverting terminology sustains flawed policy," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C), pages 35-42.
    10. Blessing Atwine & Ibrahim Mike Okumu & John Bosco Nnyanzi, 2023. "What drives the dynamics of employment growth in firms? Evidence from East Africa," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, December.
    11. David Haritone Shikumo & Mwangi Mirie, 2020. "Determinants of Lending to Small and Medium Enterprises by Commercial Banks in Kenya," Papers 2010.12550, arXiv.org.
    12. Tanja Jakimova & Neda Popovska Kamnar, 2019. "Bank financing to SMEs in the Republic of North Macedonia: Evidence from Survey Data," Working Papers 2019-01, National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
    13. Ali , Abd Elrahman Elzahi Saaid, 2014. "The Challenges of Islamic Trade Finance in Promoting SMEs in IDB Member Countries," Working Papers 1435-6, The Islamic Research and Teaching Institute (IRTI).
    14. Anosisye M. Kesale, 2017. "Barriers Facing Startup Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) In Accessing External Capital in Tanzania," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(3), pages 55-72, March.

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