Editing Small and medium enterprises (section)

=== Africa ===
[[File:Expected_change_in_credit_demand_from_small_and_medium-sized_enterprises_in_2021_(%25_respondents),_Southern_Africa.png|thumb|326x326px|Results from the [[European Investment Bank]]'s Banking in Africa survey, 2021. Expected change in credit demand from small and medium-sized enterprises in 2021 in [[Southern Africa]].<ref name="Bank">{{Cite book|url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/economic-report-finance-in-africa-green-smart-inclusive-private-sector-development|title=Finance in Africa: for green, smart and inclusive private sector development|date=2021-11-18|publisher=European Investment Bank|doi=10.2867/38529 |isbn=978-92-861-5063-0|language=EN |author1=European Investment Bank. }}</ref>]][[Africa]]n small businesses frequently struggle to get the cash they require to thrive. According to the SME Finance Forum, the formal financing gap for African SMEs averaged 17% of GDP across the [[African countries|43 countries]] assessed in 2017.<ref name="eib.org">{{Cite web|title=Finance in Africa: for green, smart and inclusive private sector development|url=https://www.eib.org/en/videos/finance-in-africa-for-green-smart-and-inclusive-private-sector|access-date=2021-12-06|website=European Investment Bank|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=MSME Finance Gap|url=https://www.smefinanceforum.org/data-sites/msme-finance-gap|access-date=2021-12-20|website=SME Finance Forum|language=en}}</ref>

According to the World Bank, women own 58% of all MSMEs in Africa.<ref name="eib.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Eliminating Gender Disparities in Business Performance in Africa: Supporting Women-Owned Firms|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/eliminating-gender-disparities-in-business-performance-in-africa-supporting-women-owned-firms|access-date=2021-12-20|website=World Bank|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=World Bank SME Finance: Development news, research, data|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance|access-date=2021-12-20|website=World Bank|language=en}}</ref>

The [[European Investment Bank]]'s [[Banking in Africa]] survey, 2021 suggests that most of the responding banks had a [[non-performing loan]] (NPL) ratio of at least 5%. NPLs account for at least 10% of the SME portfolio in approximately one-third of African banks. Furthermore, 50% of the banks had at least 5% of their SME portfolio under the [[moratorium (law)|moratorium]], and 40% had at least 5% of SME loans under some type of restructuring.<ref name="eib.org"/>

==== Egypt ====
Most of [[Egypt]]'s businesses are small-sized, with 97 percent employing fewer than 10 workers, according to census data released by state-run statistics body [[Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (Egypt)|CAPMAS]] (Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics).<ref name=Ahram>{{cite web |url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/113642.aspx |title=Egypt lacks medium-sized businesses, as analysts blame regulation |author=Marwa Hussein |website=[[Ahram Online]] |date=2014-10-22 |accessdate=2025-03-15}}</ref>

Medium-sized enterprises with 10 to 50 employees account for around 2.7 percent of total businesses. However, big businesses with over 50 employees account for 0.4 percent of all enterprises nationwide.<ref name=Ahram/>

The data is part of Egypt's 2012/13 economic census on establishments ranging from small stalls to big enterprises. Economic activity outside the establishments – like [[street vendors]] and farmers, for example – were excluded from the census.<ref name=Ahram/>
[[File:Expected_change_in_credit_demand_from_small_and_medium-sized_enterprises_over_next_year_(%25)_respondents_in_East_Africa.png|thumb|325x325px|Results from the [[European Investment Bank]]'s Banking in Africa survey, 2021, for the expected change in credit demand from SMEs in [[East Africa]]<ref name="Bank"/>]]
The results show that Egypt is greatly lacking in medium-sized businesses.<ref name=Ahram/>

Seventy percent of the country's 24 million businesses have only one or two employees. But less than 0.1 percent – only 784 businesses – employ between 45 and 49 people.<ref name=Ahram/>

==== Kenya ====
In [[Kenya]], the term changed to MSME, which stands for "micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises".{{when|date=April 2025}}

For micro-enterprises, the minimum number of employees is up to 10 employees. For small enterprises, it is from 10 to 50. For medium enterprises, it is from 50 to 100.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

==== Nigeria ====
The [[Central Bank of Nigeria]] defines small and medium enterprises in [[Nigeria]] according to asset base and a number of staff employed. The criteria are an asset base that is between [[Naira|₦5]]&nbsp;million ($15,400) to [[Naira|₦500]] million ($1,538,000), and a staff strength that is between 11 and 100 employees.<ref name="doi.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2010/publications/guidelines/dfd/GUIDELINES%20ON%20N200%20BILLION%20SME%20CREDIT%20GUARANTEE.pdf|title=N200 BILLION SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES CREDIT GUARANTEE SCHEME(SMECGS)|last=Central Bank Of Nigeria|date=March 30, 2010|publisher=Central Bank of Nigeria|access-date=December 9, 2017}}</ref>

==== Somalia ====
In [[Somalia]], the term is SME (for "small, medium, and micro enterprises"); elsewhere in Africa, MSME stands for "micro, small, and medium enterprises". An SME is defined as a small business that has more than 30 employees but less than 250 employees.

==== South Africa ====
In the National Small Business Amendment Act 2004,<ref>{{cite web|title=Republic of South Africa, National Small Business Amendment Act|url=http://www.thedti.gov.za/business_regulation/acts/small_business_amendment_act.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725112718/http://www.thedti.gov.za/business_regulation/acts/small_business_amendment_act.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 25, 2015|publisher=www.thedti.gov.za|access-date=10 October 2015}}</ref> '''micro-businesses''' in the different sectors, varying from the manufacturing to the retail sectors, are defined as businesses with five or fewer employees and a turnover of up to R100,000 [[South African Rand|ZAR]] ($6,900). '''Very small businesses''' employ between 6 and 20 employees, while '''small businesses''' employ between 21 and 50 employees. The upper limit for turnover in a small business varies from R1 million ($69,200) in the [[Agriculture in South Africa|agricultural sector]] to R13 million ($899,800) in the catering, accommodations and other [[Economy of South Africa#Trade and investment|trade sectors]] as well as in the [[Economy of South Africa#Manufacturing|manufacturing]] sector, with a maximum of R32 million ($2,214,800) in the [[Wholesaling|wholesale trade]] sector.

'''Medium-sized businesses''' usually employ up to 200 people (100 in the agricultural sector), and the maximum turnover varies from R5 million ($346,100) in the agricultural sector to R51 ($3,529,800) million in the manufacturing sector and R64 ($4,429,600) million in the wholesale trade, [[commercial agent]]s and allied services {{Clarify|reason=What are allied services?|date=July 2022}} sector.

A comprehensive definition of an SME in South Africa is, therefore, an enterprise with one or more of the following characteristics: 
* Fewer than 200 employees,
* Annual turnover of less than R64 million,
* Capital assets of less than R10 million,
* Direct managerial involvement by owners<ref>Du Toit, Erasmus and Strydom "Definition of small business" ''Introduction to business management, 7th Edition'' Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 49</ref>

====Tunisia====
In [[Tunisia]], the self-employed workers alone account for about 28% of the total non-farm employment, and firms with fewer than 100 employees account for about 62% of total employment.<ref name=rijkers />