Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical for creating more equitable economic growth. SMEs create opportunities for more people to participate in the formal economy and help reduce poverty by creating jobs. In many developing countries large businesses have access to formal, bank-based credit and capital markets while households and micro-entrepreneurs have access to micro-loans. This leaves a massive gap known as the “missing middle.”
While SMEs in rich countries represent half of GDP, they are largely absent from the formal economies of developing countries. Today, there are trillions of investment dollars chasing returns – and SMEs are a potentially high impact, high return investment. However, only a trickle of this capital currently reaches SMEs in developing countries. Our goal is to increase this flow.
We want to show that SMEs can be profitable investments. We will do this by focusing on lowering transaction costs, deepening capital markets to increase liquidity, and catalyzing capital for investment.
- Lower Transaction Costs: Investing in SMEs in the developing world can be risky and expensive because of the difficulty in assessing entrepreneurs and the lack of standardized information. We will work on developing tools and systems to make it easier for growth capital to flow to these firms.
- Deepen Capital Markets: Since there are few opportunities to exit successful SME investments to recoup the upside returns, as well as weak accounting systems and lack of transparency, investors are less likely to make equity investments in the first place. We will invest in information tools and investment mechanisms to increase liquidity in the market for risk capital.
- Catalyze Capital: For the reasons listed above, investors are hesitant to invest in SMEs in the developing world. Google.org will invest in funds, partner with financial institutions, and directly support these firms to help make the business case for this sector and help make the market for new financial products and instruments.
Our geographic focus areas are India and East Africa.
While we are not accepting unsolicited proposals at this time, if you are working in the following specific issue areas and are interested in a partnership, please contact us.
- Tools for better identifying high-potential entrepreneurs
- Systems or methods for lowering financial transaction costs
- Technology tools to standardize financial information
See Google.org's Grants & Investments page for a list of current partners. For a closer look, please read our initiative brief. |
Joseph Tackie is the CEO of Meaty Foods Limited, a high-end butcher in Ghana. He's also the winner of last year's "Believe Begin Become" (BBB) business planning competition (sponsored by TechnoServe and Google.org), and the elected president of the BBB Ghana Alumni Association. The BBB program, with its prize funding, skills training, and mentorship has enabled Joe to expand his business, increasing marketing and sales around Accra.
Video: Introduction to Google.org's new initiative, Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Its goal is to increase the flow of risk capital to small and medium-sized businesses in the developing world.
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