SME Empowerment Innovation Challenge in East and West Africa is an initiative of HiiL, Ford Foundation and the World Economic Forum to empower SMEs in East and West Africa.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are very important to the growth of every country. Businesses are usually classified as SMEs based on the number of staff they hire and either turnover or balance sheet total. These kind of businesses tend to be in the majority in most developing countries. They face so many obstacles that prevent them from growing or scaling into multinational companies.
Some of these obstacles include a lack of information, harsh regulations, high levels of taxation etc. The obstacles make it difficult for most SMEs to thrive in African countries. This is the problem that the Innovation Justice Challenge seeks to solve. The challenge is a great opportunity for SMEs to get seed funding to help them launch their products in an already unwelcoming business terrain. Follow the link to read all about it and what is required of you if you intend to participate.