Catalysing Investment Finance for SMEs: FSD Tanzania’s Foray into the Enterprise Growth Market

This case study examines FSD Tanzania's (FSDT) efforts to operationalise the Enterprise Growth Market (EGM), an alternative investment channel of the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) designed to provide long-term equity capital for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). FSDT provided approximately USD 1.36 million in grants to the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) and the DSE to build regulatory capacity, increase public awareness, and support the listing of growth-oriented SMEs.

• FSD Tanzania provided approximately USD 1,360,000 in funding to the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2011 to operationalise the Enterprise Growth Market (EGM) and encourage adoption by investors and firms.
• The EGM has successfully listed five companies: Maendeleo Commercial Bank, Swala Oil & Gas, Mkombozi Commercial Bank, Mwalimu Commercial Bank, and Yetu Microfinance Bank, with an additional IPO concluded for Mufindi Community Bank. Total funds raised through the EGM reached approximately TZS 46 billion from 242,518 investors.
• To support smaller firms and start-ups in meeting the costs of engaging Nominated Advisors (NOMADs) for prospectus development, a revolving fund of US$200,000 was established with the CMSA, providing short-term concessional loans payable after an IPO.
• The DSE introduced a mobile platform in collaboration with Maxicom Africa Limited to enable virtual investment and increase retail participation, which also unexpectedly improved the ability of companies to find advisers.
• Despite progress, the EGM faces systemic challenges including low liquidity in secondary markets, a lack of participants in core sectors such as agriculture, mining, real estate, transport, and tourism, and limited managerial skills among MSMEs to meet corporate governance standards for listing.
• FSDT's approach emphasized the importance of counterpart contributions to ensure long-term ownership, though it noted that high initial grant subsidies are often necessary for nascent markets before they can be sustained by stakeholders.

APA

Gibson, A., Elliott, D., & Johnson, D. (2017). Catalysing Investment Finance for SMEs: FSD Tanzania’s Foray into the Enterprise Growth Market. FSD Africa. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSDT-Case-study.pdf

Chicago

Gibson, Alan, David Elliott, and Diane Johnson. Catalysing Investment Finance for SMEs: FSD Tanzania’s Foray into the Enterprise Growth Market. FSD Africa, 2017. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSDT-Case-study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gibson |first1=Alan |last2=Elliott |first2=David |last3=Johnson |first3=Diane |title=Catalysing Investment Finance for SMEs: FSD Tanzania’s Foray into the Enterprise Growth Market |publisher=FSD Africa |date=March 2017 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSDT-Case-study.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gibson2017catalysing, author = {Gibson, Alan and Elliott, David and Johnson, Diane}, title = {{Catalysing Investment Finance for SMEs: FSD Tanzania’s Foray into the Enterprise Growth Market}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSDT-Case-study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }