Nairobi, Kenya – Kenya will host the Africa Inclusive Finance Week (SAM 2025) this October. Billed as a continental gathering for financial inclusion, impact investment, and fintech innovation, the summit raises urgent questions: Will Africa’s hustlers finally get justice, or is this another round of hollow speeches, elite handshakes, and donor dollars with strings attached?
A US$20 Billion Black Hole: Where’s the Real Change?
Kenya’s own Principal Secretary for MSME Development, Susan Auma Mang’eni, acknowledged the harsh reality: African entrepreneurs face a US$20 billion credit shortfall — and current efforts are doing little to close it.
At the launch event in Nairobi, Mang’eni referenced the controversial Hustler Fund — a state-run microloan scheme — as an example of financial inclusion. But on the ground, it’s a different story: millions are stuck in debt cycles, chasing short-term microloans while structural reform remains absent.
Despite official claims that over 25 million Kenyans have accessed loans, no credible data shows how many escaped poverty, how many defaulted, or whether the fund genuinely improved lives. Many critics argue that the Hustler Fund is a political gimmick packaged as policy — a payday loan machine dressed in national colors.
Fintech Hype vs. Financial Justice
Kenya’s global fintech reputation may be strong on paper, but its reality is exclusive by design. Access to loans still depends on outdated collateral systems — land titles, fixed assets, formal registration — all of which exclude women, youth, and informal traders.
Mang’eni’s call to integrate behavioural credit ratings into mainstream systems sounds promising, but without regulatory overhauls and local ownership of data, this could simply transfer more power to profit-driven digital lenders and surveillance capitalism.
Meanwhile, financial institutions continue to discriminate against Africa’s working class, prioritizing elite clients and donor-funded startups while neglecting the informal sector — the real engine of African economies.
Trade Expansion or Neocolonial Debt Traps?
Kenya’s government is celebrating new trade agreements with the EU, US, and UAE, but the truth is: MSMEs are unprepared to capitalize on these deals. They still lack cross-border payment infrastructure, financing options, and protection from exploitative trade terms.
Mang’eni says payment flexibility will be discussed at SAM 2025. But if previous summits are anything to go by, that flexibility will likely be designed in Brussels, not Busia.
From Arusha to Nairobi: Will SAM 2025 Break the Cycle?
SAM 2025 traces its roots back to Arusha in 2013. It now spans 54 countries, attracting global impact investors, fintech giants, and finance ministers. ADA Executive Director Laura Foschi claims the event is about “partnerships and change” — but how much has really changed in the last decade?
The truth: Africa has hosted summit after summit, yet millions remain unbanked, underpaid, and overburdened with bad debt.
Who Will This Summit Serve?
This time, the stakes are higher. Kenya’s selection as host underscores its fintech prowess, but it must go beyond showcasing innovation for donor applause. Africa needs a summit that Interrogates failed government schemes like the Hustler Fund, challenges exclusionary financial systems, and builds African-owned models of credit, trust, and community lending.
SAM 2025 must serve the African hustler, not the foreign investor.
This summit must not be a celebration of exclusion in fancy language. It must be a reckoning with the broken promises of financial inclusion. Let the world see that Africa’s future lies not in donor-funded apps or state-run debt traps — but in systems that trust and empower the African hustler on their own terms.
