The 7th Prosperity Africa Conference in Monrovia brought together policymakers, chambers of commerce, development partners, and the private sector to turn trade talk into real investment and jobs for Africa.
Among the distinguished experts invited was Dr. James Francis Davis, Senior International Consultant for the African Development Bank (AfDB), who delivered a powerful lecture on MSME Financing – The Financial Gap.
Dr. Davis, who is widely respected for his work on economic policy, private sector development, and youth entrepreneurship financing across the continent, unpacked the critical challenges and solutions for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Liberia and Africa.
Key Highlights of His Lecture:
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1. Closing the Financial Gap of $1.03 Billion annually for MSMEs in Liberia: Dr. Davis highlighted that MSMEs contribute over 80% of employment in Africa but remain perpetually under-financed. He noted the continent faces a financing shortfall of over $209 billion for small businesses.
2. Beyond Money – Building Ecosystems: Quoting current AfDB thinking, he emphasized that “access to finance is important, but finance alone has not enabled businesses to scale.” He called for a complete ecosystem: financing + credit guarantees + technical assistance + market access + mentorship.
3. Linking MSMEs to AfCFTA & Regional Value Chains: He connected MSME financing to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), urging that stronger regional value chains should allow one country to supply, another to process, and another to provide logistics and finance. For Liberia, he pointed to agriculture, light manufacturing, logistics, technology, and tourism as high-potential sectors.
4. Lessons for Liberia’s Youth Bank (YEIB): Dr. Davis tied his lecture directly to Liberia’s new Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank Management Company (YEIB-MANCO), an AfDB and Government of Liberia funded initiative targeting 30,000 youth-led businesses. He noted that YEIB’s model of training, incubation, and then financing is the right approach to avoid grant failure.
5. Building on investment priorities discussed at the Brussels Investment Forum in February, Dr. Davis stressed that roads must be seen as economic corridors, and that improved coordination between government, chambers, and development partners is needed to ensure opportunities translate into jobs.
Dr. Davis commended the LCC for pushing for more opportunities for local businesses and called on commercial banks to partner with guarantee funds to reduce high interest rates, high collateral demands, and short repayment periods that are killing Liberian MSMEs.
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His presentation was highly interactive, practical, and aligned with the conference theme: “MSME Financing at the Africa Prosperity Conference for Sustainable Development: Policy Reforms, Innovation, and Opportunities.”
We applaud Dr. James Francis Davis for his continued thought leadership and for championing Liberian entrepreneurs on the continental stage. His expertise is a huge asset to the AfDB, to Liberia, and to the Prosperity Africa agenda.
