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FrançaisI&P contributes to ARIA’s “Foundations of Growth” on reaching small and growing businesses
Submitted by on Tue, 10/14/2025 - 15:19
I&P is proud to contribute to ARIA’s latest Foundations of Growth report, on the topic "Reaching small and growing businesses in frontier markets" with an article exploring the lessons learned on I&P Development, alongside an article published by the Collaborative for Frontier Finance.
Small and growing businesses (SGBs) are the backbone of Africa’s frontier markets—creating jobs, strengthening local supply chains and driving innovation. Yet they still face an estimated $330bn financing gap that constrains entrepreneurship and inclusive growth.
I&P is pleased to contribute to the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) series, Foundations of Growth, with an article by David Munnich and Alexandre Ponton reflecting on 10 years of the I&P Development (IPDEV) model. Launched to seed and support locally managed, locally rooted investment teams, IPDEV has helped build a pipeline of first-time managers able to finance smaller-ticket SME deals with hands-on support. To date, IPDEV has supported seven investment teams across the continent: Sinergi (Niger), Sinergi Burkina (Burkina Faso), Teranga Capital (Senegal), Comoé Capital (Côte d’Ivoire), Miarakap (Madagascar), Zira Capital (Mali), and Inua Capital (Uganda). These funds have collectively invested in nearly 60 African SMEs, helping unlock revenue growth, job creation and follow-on capital.
The piece outlines what has worked in practice: backing local teams and investing in their capacity from day one, sharing governance and alignment, including meaningful local ownership, catalytic early capital to de-risk first closes and crowd in additional investors, and flexible instruments and close support tailored to SME realities.
To read more on I&P Development, click here
Alongside I&P’s article, the Collaborative for Frontier Finance (CFF) contributes a companion piece highlighting how growth funds are serving the “missing middle” through flexible, often self-liquidating instruments and manager-led support. Together, the two perspectives offer practical lessons for DFIs and investors seeking to mobilise more capital to smaller local funds and reach SGBs at scale.
About
The Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA) supports the long-term growth of frontier markets across the African continent.
This report is part of our Foundations of Growth series of publications, which shares the trends, lessons, challenges, and opportunities of investing in frontier markets in Africa. Foundations of Growth is aimed at helping development finance institutions, donors and impact investors develop their strategies for operating in these markets.