The flagship program of the Growth Platform, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), was launched in 2016 empowering Nigerian enterprises through microfinance. To properly profile, document, digitize, and serve its beneficiaries, the Growth Platform developed a powerful, technology-enabled infrastructure incorporating biometrics, a field-agent network for mobile data capture, and integration with financial services.

With an impact on over 2.4 million beneficiaries over five years, GEEP was a first case study of what can happen when the focus of aid shifts away from survival and towards productivity. The program today has drawn on the talent of 22,000 agents— “human banks”— who are able to reach informal enterprises in the remotest corners of the country. GEEP is now Africa’s largest fully digitized micro-credit scheme, providing the access to capital that many artisans, farmers, and petty traders in Nigeria need. Of the programme’s beneficiaries, 56 percent are women, and 57 percent below 35 years old.

The Growth Platform has become more than just a tool for interventions to enterprises; it is also a competitive employment forum for young talent. Of its 22,000 human banks, 75 percent are under the age of 35, and more than half have university degrees.

The Growth Platform has also been a powerful generator of opportunities for young entrepreneurs. To date, people aged 18–35 make up 57 percent of beneficiaries across its programmes. Young people are also prominent among those trained and assisted beyond provision of capital. Its model appeals to young, active or aspirant business owners, and speaks to their needs.

Although women lead an estimated 60 percent of enterprises in countries such as Nigeria, they are more likely than men to be unbanked. They are also less likely to receive credit from a formal institution—despite women being statistically more likely than men to make regular loan repayments, invest in the long-term success of their businesses, and create social impact from the finance they receive. The Growth Platform has approached the problem of women’s financial exclusion head on—and today the majority of its beneficiaries are female. Through GEEP alone, it has formalized and disbursed capital to over one million women-led enterprises and helped over 300,000 of them open bank accounts for the first time. Other programs have had similarly significant impact on women empowerment—not least the National Women Empowerment Fund, a credit extension program targeting women-owned micro-enterprises.

COVID-19 has been as much an economic pandemic as it is a health crisis. Nobody has felt this system shock more than enterprises, which have faced supply chain disruptions and decreased demand as households face budgetary constraints. Drawing on its existing database and its infrastructure that enables continuous access and communication with MSMEs, the Growth Platform has been able to respond to the health crisis in creative ways. As part of Nigeria’s Economic Sustainability Plan, the country launched the MSME Survival Fund—a $187 million fund to support enterprises through payroll support, artisan and transport-worker support, and offtake schemes. The Fund makes use of the Growth Platform’s infrastructure—including its human-bank network and e-wallet systems—from enumeration to verification to disbursement and tracking.

The Growth Platform has also partnered with the World Bank to manage and deliver a key component of the Nigeria COVID-19 Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) program – namely, a $158 million fund dedicated to loan subsidies, operations grants, and tech-support grants for 650,000 vulnerable MSMEs. The Growth Platform has also driven polls and phone deep-dives across its enterprise database, supporting global partner decision-making on vaccine access in Nigeria.

The innovations of the Growth Platform have set the stage for large-scale poverty solutions across Africa. Its model has proved effective, robust, and scalable. If the growth rate in beneficiary onboarding is maintained, an expanded set of partners could reach 25 million beneficiaries in African countries by 2025. This, in turn, would elevate several enterprises and create meaningful careers for tens of thousands of additional young entrepreneurs. Such an audacious goal demands a broad coalition of forward-looking governments, development institutions, innovators, financial services players, and talented individuals. With the momentum and insights gathered over the past five years, the Growth Platform is ready to scale up—and eager to use its expertise and resources to support new partners in replicating its success. From a wealth of accumulated field experience, data, and insights, the Growth Platform has distilled a set of five tried-and-tested principles to guide the future evolution of the platform. Join us.