A Framework for World Bank Group Support for Development of Micro, Small Enterprise, and Rural Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper discusses the framework for the development of the private sector, the financial sector and the small enterprises.

The paper explores how the resources of the bank group, as a whole, can actively help to:

• Foster private sector growth;
• Strengthen the institutional underpinnings;
• Facilitate the entrepreneurial efforts of the poor.

The paper elucidates that the World Bank group wants to achieve its objective by addressing three principal areas:

• Policy, legal and regulatory frameworks;
• Institution building of banks and microfinance institutions;
• Adoption of Innovative approaches.

The paper presents the strategy for operationalizing the program:

• Strong emphasis on microfinance development in the early stages of development;
• Coordination with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the design of country strategies;
• Selection of countries having conducive regulatory environment;
• Development and dissemination of the lessons of experience.

The paper discuses the four phases of the program to assist micro, small and medium enterprises and rural finance development at the appropriate stages:

• Raising awareness to introduce policymakers and practitioners to international best practices for the policy and regulatory frameworks;
• Diagnosing the policy, regulatory and institutional framework issues;
• Replicating a participatory process to develop a country-relevant action plan;
• Supporting programs through lending or non-lending assistance.