Project profile — Accelerating Business Growth in Ethiopia

This project aims to strengthen the financial, social and environmental performance of small and medium businesses (SMEs) so they are better able to attract and manage finance, including private equity financing, and scale up their companies. This will enable SMEs to play a stronger role in poverty reduction through the creation of more and better jobs for Ethiopians. Project activities: (1) provide business incubation and development support services to improve women and men-owned entreprises’ access to finance, including initial equity investments by North American angel investors; (2) build the capacity of local institutions and financial professionals to assist growth-oriented SMEs to access finance, and; (3) build international and domestic investor awareness of Ethiopian investment opportunities. This project hopes to create better and more sustainable employment for 7,700 Ethiopians and support the growth of 500 economically, environmentally and socially sustainable Ethiopian SMEs.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved financial, social and environmental performance of selected Ethiopian women and men-owned SMEs to drive sustainable and responsible growth; (2) increased effectiveness of Ethiopian institutions and financial professionals to facilitate women and men-owned SMEs’ access to finance; and (3) increased funding flowing to Ethiopian SMEs from foreign and domestic investors, lenders and donors.

Results achieved at the end of the project (May 2021) include: (1) supported 6,744 jobs in Ethiopian small and medium-sized businesses, exceeding the target of 5,000, with 60% of these jobs held by women; (2) helped Ethiopian businesses attract CAD 79.6 million in new investment, surpassing the target of CAD 52.5 million, including CAD 19.1 million for women-led companies; (3) trained 93 business executives and 130 finance professionals, strengthening leadership and financial management in local companies; (4) delivered investment readiness training to 1,238 small and medium-sized businesses, nearly double the target of 650; (5) expanded the Impact Angel Network by 93 new members, including 19 Canadians, and launched innovative financing tools such as the Women’s Fund and Orange Symphony; (6) hosted 10 Women in Finance events attended by 328 women, promoting networking and leadership; and (7) launched Chigign, Ethiopia’s first entrepreneurship and investing TV series, reaching an estimated 40 million viewers and inspiring local business growth.