The MSME Academy, launched by the Ecobank Group and the AUDA-NEPAD MSME Finance Training Program has just produced over 200 emerging graduates. The latter came from the eight countries taken into account by the pilot phase of the MSME Academy, namely, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda and Togo.

As part of the AUDA-NEPAD MSME Financing Training Programme, the leading pan-African banking group, Ecobank Group, and the African Union Development Agency New Partnership for Africa's Development (AUDA-NEPAD) hosted a virtual graduation ceremony for over 200 alumni of Ecobank's inaugural MSME. The MSME Academy launched in 2020, in the midst of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is part of AUDA-NEPAD's '100,000' Transformation Programme, a continental response to COVID-19. According to the initiators, the Academy offers entrepreneurs, owners and managers of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), mentoring and business skills training courses with coaching. According to Ade Ayeyemi, CEO of Ecobank Group, this collectively designed framework is based on three essential pillars that MSMEs need to build their resilience in these unprecedented times.

These are access to capacities, access to financing and access to markets. “We had no hesitation in supporting AUDA-NEPAD's 100,000 MSME initiative. The graduation ceremony is another milestone in our journey and our commitment to supporting MSMEs and helping to become the great companies of tomorrow. Congratulations to MSME Training for the Class of 2021 Funding. This is the start of healthy success for your businesses and Ecobank is here to help you become a major business leader on our continent,” a- he declared. Around 3,000 MSMEs applied for the MSME training for the Ecobank finance program, of which 850 were shortlisted across the 8 pilot countries. The 6-week program covered 4 modules and 15 training sessions per country. A total of 120 sessions were given in the 8 countries. Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD will say that this graduation comes at a good time, after the first anniversary of the 100,000 MSME Initiative. In an effort to ensure that no MSMEs who have expressed a desire to be part of this learning experience are left behind, Ecobank is promising a unique program for the remaining 2000+ SMEs who have registered but have not not been pre-selected in the training program which has just been completed.