SME Impact Report: Powered by voices of East African agricultural SMEs receiving Aceli-supported loans 

Since 2020, Aceli has partnered with impact measurement firm 60 Decibels to gather direct feedback from agricultural SMEs and the farmers connected to them. The resulting report draws on insights from 656 SME owners with Aceli-supported loans, and more than 6,000 farmers connected to these businesses across Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

As 60 Decibels writes in the report, “What emerges is not a neat story of success, but a more nuanced account of progress, limitations, and the conditions under which finance begins to work for agri-SMEs and the farmers they engaged.”

A few of the highlights include:

Expanding access to formal finance. Sixty-one percent of the agri-SMEs were accessing loans above $25k the first time, in line with the 63% across all 5,029 loans Aceli has supported with incentives since 2020.

Enterprise improvements after receiving capital. Ninety-four percent of SMEs reported positive shifts in at least one operational area, such as improved cash flow management, more inventory, new equipment, or strengthened confidence in their future growth.

Farmers gaining first-time services. Three-quarters of farmers reported accessing at least one agricultural service for the first time through their SME, most commonly market linkages.

Processing time matters. Borrower satisfaction varied widely across lenders tied to whether loans were disbursed within one month or took three months or more. Timing proved more influential than pricing.

Advisory support strengthens outcomes. SMEs receiving advisory support from lenders alongside financing reported significantly higher satisfaction, stronger revenue gains, and greater confidence in managing future financing compared to those receiving capital alone. This points to the emerging business case of timely and quality TA for both SMEs and lenders. Aceli’s forthcoming learning brief on TA delves into this topic in more detail.

The data reinforces that well-timed, appropriately structured financing can unlock meaningful progress for both agri-SMEs and their farmer suppliers, but financing on its own cannot fully address systemic issues such as climate risk or weak infrastructure.