What's A Missing Middle?

One of the challenges keeping Africa from growing into the economic powerhouse it should be, is its conspicuous deficiency of middle-income, working-class citizens. Africa’s modernization has catapulted many individuals to the billionaire’s club, while a staggering 60 % of the continent’s population continues to live on subsistence farming, barely able to feed their families. This disparity is reflective of Africa’s anaemic small and medium sized enterprise (SME) sector.

In 2009, a Milken Institute study found that 57 % of employment and over 50 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in developed countries are generated in the SME tier. The research goes on to state that “if barriers to their growth were removed, SMEs would contribute more to economic development by providing jobs and income, expanding the middle class, broadening the tax base and ultimately decreasing poverty levels.