Our 2022 Impact Report

Learnings and insights from Small Foundation and our partners as we work together towards our vision of a thriving Africa free from extreme poverty.

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Welcome from Conor Brosnan

Welcome to Small Foundation’s 2022 Impact Report. With this year’s theme ‘spotlighting systems change’, we apply a systems lens to our impact. Changes to a system are difficult to measure, let alone attribute, but we want to take this opportunity to share some of our learnings so far.

From our foundation in 2007 to the end of 2022, we committed over €37M of funding to our partners. Through funding research and providing both financial and non-financial support, we partner with those innovative and passionate intermediaries creating a thriving African business ecosystem.

We hope this report gives a glimpse into the depth and breadth of our partners’ impact, and how the various strands of work we collaborate on effect change.

Sincerely,
Conor Brosnan
CEO & Chair

Spotlight on systems change

Our three ‘system entry points’ set out a future vision for a transformed African business ecosystem. Learn more about how we view the work of our partners through these lenses.

1. Commercially viable, sustainable models serving rural MSMEs

Ensuring MSMEs serving people living in rural poverty operate within and are served by a commercially viable ecosystem of intermediaries.

2. Connected, transparent and learning ecosystems

Working toward an MSME ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa characterised by trust and the availability of local skills, tools and services.

3. Changing patterns of empowerment and agency in Africa

A future where African expertise and capital is leveraged and the needs and potential of local MSMEs are acknowledged and prioritised.

Our impact in 2022

We disbursed funding of €3.9M to 19 partners, through grants and social investments.

This funding went to 4 direct investments; 10 network partners; 2 partners providing support to networks; and 3 research projects.

By the end of 2022 our fund and accelerator partners had investments in 220 African SMEs.

Our partners worked across 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

We approved additional funding of €4.7m to partners in 2022.

Our partners

Through our investment, networks, and research practices, we work with intermediaries and ecosystem-building initiatives that support African MSMEs to competitively thrive. Learn about our partners’ work in 2022 and how we view their systems impact.

AFRACA

ALAN

ANDE West Africa

Capria

CFF

Converge

Creative Metier

EFAfrica Group

Emerald Africa

Founders Factory Africa

I & P

IIA Kenya

ISF Advisors

Isidore

NGFP

Open Capital

Palladium

SAFIN

UEEI

Village Capital

WAI

Warc Africa

Our partners

AFRACA

ALAN

ANDE WEST AFRICA

Capria

CFF

Converge

Creative Metier

EFAfrica Group

Emerald Africa

Founders Factory Africa

I&P

IIA
Kenya

ISF Advisors

Isidore

NGFP

Open Capital

Palladium

SAFIN

UEEI

Village Capital

WAI

WARC AFRICA

Impact stories

The work and ecosystem roles of our partners are diverse. These stories offer a snapshot of their impact, from a systems level to the everyday lives of people in communities across sub-Saharan Africa.

AFRACA

Building member capacity to support innovation and sustainable growth in agriculture through digital technologies.

ALAN

ALAN members work with Kucheza on game-based learning to develop an entrepreneurial mindset towards farming.

Ande West Africa

ANDE West Africa Regional Conference 2022: convening ecosystem actors to accelerate SGB growth in Africa.

Capria

Empowering informal entrepreneurs through MAX – how Capria Ventures invests to support scaling for impact.

CFF

Convening to drive institutional investment to local capital providers addressing the ‘missing middle’ financing gap.

Creative Metier

Action research with locally led African networks focused on impacting the rural entrepreneurial ecosystem.

FFA

Improving access to markets and financial services for smallholder farmers through technological innovation.

IIA Kenya

Upscaling manufacturing SMEs: specialised training to support network members’ access to market and finance.

I&P

Supporting impact fund Teranga Capital to facilitate entrepreneur access to funding in Senegal and Gambia.

Isidore

Habitats for Hope: rebuilding homes and other support for Nigerian farming communities affected by flooding.

NGFP

Nigerian NGFP Africa network member Fisayo Oyewale shares her vision of the future of food systems in Africa.

Open Capital

Supporting Oikocredit’s investment in Solar Panda, extending solar solutions to 100,000 Kenyan households.

SAFIN

Surveying farmers’ organisations on financing challenges to equip network members to design suitable solutions.

Village Capital

Understanding the rural-impacting enterprise ecosystem in sub-Saharan Africa through engagement with ESOs.

WAI

How the WAI network is bringing value to members and developing new initiatives to support the ecosystem.

Warc Africa

Increasing smallholder transactions and employment opportunities for women in Ghanaian farmer communities.

Introduction
Our impact
Spotlights
Our partners
Impact stories
2021 Impact Report

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