In the 2023 Mastercard SME Confidence Index, the World Bank notes that SMEs account for 60% of jobs in Africa. However, they operate in cash-based economies and face a $330 billion financing gap. A 2022 African Union Development Agency report supports this, indicating that SMEs account for closer to 80% of jobs in Africa. These statistics reinforce SMEs as a significant mechanism for socio-economic growth. StatsSA reported that industries in South Africa’s formal business sector, in particular, generated $677.42 billion in total turnover in the 2019 financial year. The report further stipulated that the breakdown of turnover by business size shows that small businesses were responsible for generating $148.39 billion. There has been global advancement in fostering gender diversity within leadership roles. However, when determining and understanding the spaces taken up by the titans in small business, Forbes Africa’s research led to more male founders, leaders, and C-suite executives, hence the preponderance of one gender over the other in the list of Africa’s Small Giants.
