Tilda Mmegwa, an expert in transformative strategy and sustainable finance, has emphasized that African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must be placed at the very center of the continent’s economic integration and growth agenda.
She said this in a sub-keynote speech at the SME Scale-Up Dialogue on the second day of the Africa Prosperity Dialogue (APD) 2026, held at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC)on Thursday, 5th February 2026, El Toum welcomed ministers, industry leaders, development partners, entrepreneurs, women, and youth representatives, stressing that the conversation was central to Africa’s economic future.
APD 2026, which runs from 4th to 6th February, convened under the theme “Empowering SMEs, Women and Youth in Africa’s Single Market: Innovate. Collaborate. Trade.” The dialogue brought together heads of state, business leaders, innovators, and civil society representatives to discuss strategies for boosting intra-African trade, entrepreneurship, and youth empowerment.
Mmegwa said she was speaking not in a personal capacity, but as “the voice of African SMEs,” which number more than 125 million and account for about 90 percent of enterprises across the continent.
“SMEs are no longer the icing on the cake,” she said. “They are the main ingredients. You cannot bake any cake that will be palatable without them.”
Mmegwa emphasized that the challenges facing SMEs are inseparable from Africa’s broader development challenges. Quoting American educationist Booker T. Washington, she noted that “you cannot hold a man down without staying down with him,” arguing that Africa cannot be fully liberated if its SMEs remain constrained. “If African SMEs are not liberated, Africa is not liberated,” she said. “And all of us are not liberated.”
She expressed confidence that ongoing continental dialogues would generate concrete responses to match the concerns of SMEs, particularly around economic integration, competitiveness, trade facilitation, investment, and inclusiveness.
Credit: Philip Abutiate
