This brochure, in the form of an executive summary, presents the final results on a study as to why small- and medium-sized businesses default in sub-Saharan Africa, using the example of ARIZ. The goal was to identify the difficulties faced by SMEs face and to determine the causes for default on the SMEs’ bank loans. Commissioned by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the French development agency, this study is the first to undertake an in-depth analysis into the reasons behind SME loan defaults through concrete case studies, and to draw statisical anaylses from them. It also reveals the drivers of success that contribute to supporting SME financing.
With the ARIZ guarantee scheme, we are now able to better understand the relationship between the challenges and mechanisms behind African MSMEs loan defaults and the sources of financing, in order to distinguish perceptions from reality on the ground.
