A fresh look at Black-owned and Black-led enterprises, referred to as BOLD, estimates a $209 billion shortfall in the money they need to scale across five of sub-Saharan Africa's largest markets. Researchers say that accounts for 80% of the overall capital gap in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Ivory Coast. They also found BOLD companies tend to be small, with fewer represented as firms get larger.
Leading the pack is Nigeria with a $131 billion deficit; South Africa comes next with $45 billion. Kenya's gap is $23 billion, with Senegal at $5.7 billion and Ivory Coast at $4.6 billion. "Nigeria has 200 million-plus people," said BII's Africa head Chris Chijiutomi, noting some patterns in the country appear stronger because of the sheer number of businesses.
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Researchers point to a mix of hurdles: how many firms are structured, limited access to investor networks, and bias among capital allocators who often are not from similar social or ethnic backgrounds. The result, said Chijiutomi, is that "if these businesses aren't getting capital for growth, they're just plateauing. They're still working as businesses, but they're not able to grow," and "they're not helping to contribute to broad economic development." He added that organizations like BII need to make their financing more accessible to BOLD companies and put targets in place. As the researchers put it, "Closing these funding gaps is not only a matter of inclusion," and "It is an opportunity to unlock growth, innovation and development impact at scale."
In five of sub-Saharan Africa's largest economies, a gap of this magnitude can stifle expansion and curb financial inclusion. The takeaway from the study is straightforward: without accessible financing and clear targets from lenders and development financiers, many BOLD firms will keep operating but stall out on expansion.
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