That was the question put by the director of the United Nations Commission for Africa (UNECA), Said Adejumobi, during the 25th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Senior Officials and Experts of Southern Africa. The conference was organised by UNECA and hosted by the kingdom of Eswatini.

The answer, according to Professor Adejumobi, is that had Mark Zuckerberg been African, he would have had a much bigger chance of being swallowed by the cat from outer space than becoming a successful businessman. The chances of a school dropout succeeding in Africa are nil, Adejumobi explained, stressing the role the environment plays in supporting initiatives. 

For four consecutive days, the issues related to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were highlighted and thrashed out by experts, representatives from local and international organisations, civil society, the private sector and academia. MSMEs, which are crucial in providing job opportunities and helping the developmental agenda of countries suffer from ineffective, insufficient policies, structural infrastructure challenges, poor market information, access to finance, poor management, access to finance, access to markets, lack of tax incentives, stigmatised vocational training etc. 

“In sub-Saharan Africa, estimates suggest that about 95 percent of  businesses are MSMEs,” Said Adejumobi said, adding that “while MSMEs contribute to employment, GDP, innovation and creativity, market discovery and state revenue, they are mostly weak, stunted and with a high rate of attrition in Africa. Three out of five MSMEs do not usually survive their first year of existence. Plagued with several challenges, the mortality rate is usually very high.”  

The way forward, the experts decided, is through reconstructing the narrative. “The state has to identify the various stages in which it can engage with small businesses and help them,” Adejumobi said. “We must stop feeding the overfed and concentrate on those who are starved of cash,” he added, echoing the feeling of the small and medium entrepreneurs present at the meeting.

Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini talked about the challenges SMEs face, including “low penetration to regional and global markets, inability of MSMEs to leverage regional value chains, skills – including digital and management skills, and financial and infrastructure constraints” and highlighted the “Small-Scale Enterprise Loan Guarantee Scheme” introduced in the kingdom. “Through this scheme, businesses are able to obtain a guarantee for a loan up to a certain amount, with government providing a guarantee of about 95 per cent of the loan,” he said.

Representatives of SMEs also stressed the need for enterprises to concentrate on quality to prevent African countries from becoming a dumping ground.

The next meeting will be held in Lesotho.