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Business Advisors Create Value for SMEs


Winnie Cheptoo - October 18, 2022 - 0 comments

By Gladys Siamanda, Monitoring and Evaluation Associate

recent media article revealed that foreign investors are shunning from investing in the East African region due to SMEs’ lack of data for proper investment analysis. While the report concentrated on data related to the quality of assets and the reasonableness of SMEs’ valuation, it revealed the importance of the services KIM BASPs offer to SMEs as they raise capital.

BASPs are helping SMEs carry out proper data analysis that help the business owners have a clear view of what they are doing efficiently and areas needing improvement. This data helps an investor know that an entrepreneur has a good handle on their business trajectory and therefore raises investor confidence.

A recent Data Quality Assessment Exercise for KIM revealed that KIM’s M&E tools, templates, and processes had a positive impact on BASPs’ internal systems and reporting processes. Examples of this impact include:

  • Refinement of existing internal structures and scoring, as well as time management across their pipeline.
  • Timeline and time management of processes have been rolled down to the SMEs, aiding in closing transactions faster.
  • Client management and engagement – by rolling down the timeline and time management processes to the SMEs, coupled with bi-weekly client calls has impacted their efficiency and time management practices.
  • Integration of Environmental Compliance/Impact into their actual marketing/sales pitch.
  • Scoring matrix and on-boarding processes have been adopted and adapted.

KIM’s BASPs help SMEs with data analysis services which lead to opportunity assessment, transaction structuring, due diligence, link to investors, business planning and proposal development.

KIM has helped the BASPs through value chain financing training and market connections with financial institutions and other investors, to further help BASPs support SMEs in capital raising.

This support is helping Kenya and East Africa stop losing billions in investment funds because of data gaps among SMEs.