AEG Presents Impact Investments in Singapore

Africa Equity Group’s Managing Partner and COO, Osa Aihie, presented his vision of the African investment landscape at Singapore’s 2023 Business and Philanthropy Forum, organized by the Alliance For Good in a workshop curated by the Pan-African Council with the theme “Investing in Africa”.

Shared a panel with Dianne Dusaidi – Lead, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Transitions of the Mastercard Foundation Africa and Fayçal Aliou – President of Rizq Ventures, Osa highlighted the tremendous opportunity for impact investment in Africa as it relates to providing affordable growth capital and technical assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs currently account for more than 80% of jobs and 90% of the private sector on a continent with the youngest population and fastest urbanization rate.

Osa also emphasized that investment flows into African SMEs help attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other continental impact frameworks such as the Africa Union’s 2063 Agenda both through direct and indirect channels. These include the employment opportunities they generate, the ideas, innovation and dynamism that come from entrepreneurship, the responsible business practices they choose to adopt, the sectors in which they operate and the impact they have on the broader economy. He also noted that in order to be successful in the African context, SMEs need a model that supports them as engines of change.

Osa further showcased how Africa Equity Group’s sustainable investment strategies can be a pathway for deeper cooperation with Asia’s business and philanthropic community, underscoring the pivotal roles of environmental and social considerations.