Africa's Missing Continuum of Capital

Africa has a shortage of capital? Not exactly. It has a missing continuum of capital. A firm may find working capital today, but struggle to finance machinery tomorrow, expansion the year after, or its first regional export order. This matters for the AfCFTA. Opening markets is only half the equation. Firms also need the capital to enter them, expand, and compete. If finance cannot move with firms as they grow, Africa risks creating markets that only the already well-capitalised can exploit. The question is no longer only how to remove barriers to trade, but it is which firms will actually have the financial capacity to exploit the markets that integration creates? Read the full article in Modern Diplomacy⁠.